Newsstand

June 15, 2011
Mobile SMS and the Mobile Marketing Agency [DMA11]

One debate swirling around our industry hinges on trying to determine what the direct marketing agency of the future will look like. Will it evolve to integrate all aspects of social marketing and mobile marketing under the direct marketing umbrella? Or will it break off into specialty components, with each focusing on individual disciplines? Mobile SMS is sure to be at the focal point of whatever direction our industry is about to take.

Some answers to these questions will be found at the upcoming marketing event in Boston - DMA2011 Conference and Exhibition. The Mobile education track alone is sure to garner tremendous interest as agencies struggle to keep up with the demands of the ever-changing mobile direct marketing world. The sessions on mobile, mobile devices, and location-based services have been designed to provide mobile marketing agencies with the knowledge they need to reach out directly to where their audience is at any given time.

Mobile direct marketing will be similar to what we do now because the fundamentals of what it takes to communicate with target consumers and motivate them to action will not change. Yet it will still need to evolve and adapt to the new communication opportunities as they present themselves. At its most fundamental level, mobile marketing is still communicating directly with consumers. The difference is in the delivery mechanism. Because of its very nature, mobile web marketing will be different than traditional web marketing, and mobile SEO strategies will need to be adjusted accordingly. Each will need to be more concise and precise, as consumers will demand instantaneous responses to the information they are seeking.

Mobile SMS (Short Message Service) may be similar to what we do with email marketing, but we’ll have to work harder to make sure it’s timely and appropriate. While consumers were happy to let emails sit in their inbox for several days, they generally read and respond to text messages very quickly. If the message doesn’t have any value for them at that precise time, it’s quickly deleted as they move on to the next topic. Location Based Services (LBS) will become even more crucial to retailers and service industry venues as they strive to offer information at the exact time a potential customer is in their market area and most likely to use it.

The great news is that we don’t have to abandon our hard-earned success with direct mail altogether. Enter the QR Code. Consumers with a code reader app on their smartphone or digital device can now simply scan a barcode on a direct mail piece and go directly to the company’s web site. If the mail piece has been developed with all our usual flair, it should be pretty easy to motivate this action and take the benefits of targeted direct mail to the next step of mobile direct marketing. Just imagine what creative direct marketers will be able to do with this kind of powerful tool!

Over 10,000 attendees will be learning about the latest in mobile SMS and direct marketing at this year’s DMA2011 Conference and Exhibition Oct 1-6 in Boston—the global event for real-time marketers.

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