What A Corporate Mobile Role Looks Like

I’ve argued elsewhere that Canadian companies and agencies should take a serious look at bringing mobile marketing expertise ‘in-house’.

For agencies, it makes the most sense in full-service, promo and direct response/relationship marketing shops. Digital agencies also need to understand mobile at the very least for mobile web and application builds. Having in-house mobile expertise won’t be right for every company, but any youth-focused brand, consumer packaged goods firm or publisher should be taking mobile very seriously.

There are plenty of reasons why having a mobile subject matter expert, product and/or project manager makes sense. Not the least of which are: defining brand mobile objectives; conceiving, developing and managing mobile programming; managing vendor relations and; acting as a mobile advocate both internally and externally.

In an encouraging sign, I found the following job description posted for a major Canadian publisher:

This role will require tight coordination with the Creative, Marketing, Brand Management, and Project Management teams in order to meet business requirements for each initiative. It will also require the management of external partners who have been selected for the development of the mobile initiatives. A deep understanding of mobile content and mobile devices will be a success factor, as well as experience in implementing best practices in terms of Product Development including both product planning and product marketing.

Responsibilities:

The Product Manager is expected to:
1. In collaboration with Marketing, Brand Managers and the creative team, contribute in defining the product strategy and roadmap for mobile development
2. Develop the core positioning and messaging for mobile products and manage all aspects of execution
3. Primary point of contact on Mobile for Transcontinental constituents
4. Manage day-to-day activities on Mobile initiatives
5. Work with external third parties to assess partnerships
6. Support sales teams on proposals that include mobile
7. Develop appropriate sales tools and train as necessary
8. Be an expert with respect to the competition and keep abreast of latest trends
9. Perform product demos to customers
10. Set revenue model to meet revenue and profitability goals
11. Deliver a monthly P&L forecast
12. Set rate card pricing for Mobile products & services
13. Service external clients on mobile projects
14. Act as a gatekeeper, working with Brand Managers, Product Directors or other internal departments to capture, consolidate and manage the implementation of Mobile initiatives

For me, this description makes a lot of sense and covers the core functions and responsibilities of a mobile subject matter expert/product manager. A final job description for your organization or agency will likely differ slightly, but using this as a template will go a long way for defining the role of a mobile marketer in-house and setting key deliverables.

What do you think?

Possibly Related Posts:

Spread The Word:

Jonathandunn.ca