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Mobile will save publishing. Maybe. The iPad will save publishing. Maybe. Some yet to be imagined device will save publishing. Maybe. Let’s face it. We don’t know what will save publishing.

Or do we? Has the answer been in front of us the whole time? Maybe.

Advertisers will save publishing. That is a statement I will get behind. What will save publishing is giving advertisers compelling reasons to spend money. (Side note: by publishing I am referring to any media company that drives a significant portion of their revenue through advertising)

I don’t work for a content producer, but I have in the past.  I’m on the agency side and work with publishers on mobile advertising campaigns. What I’ve experienced has led me to two conclusions:

1. Mobile Publishing monetization models are still being worked out. (This is not what I want to talk about today but it’s a huge issue in mPublishing. And the crux may be what advertisers need to bring to the table vs. what services and solutions publishers should or can offer.)
2. Campaign analytics and reporting are still too shallow or are rarely packaged in a way that gets agencies – and by extension their clients – as excited as they should be.

Here’s my argument:

Publishers need to deliver targeting capabilities and usage analytics robust enough to allow media buyers to make intelligent campaign planning decisions. Otherwise, monetization attempts will mostly fail as marketers search for solid foundations for calculating customer targeting, engagement and acquisition ROI.

That sounds awfully grim. The good news is that the higher than web click through rates and the ‘innovation’ play will likely be sufficient to deliver enough revenue to keep everyone pretty happy – for now, that is.  So, before that, here is my take on merging analytics and targeting in a way that makes everyone look and feel good.

I’ve broken the analytics scope into four domains: Connectivity, Consumer, Content and Conversion. Each of these domains has multiple dimensions and for the purposes of this piece I’ll keep it pretty high level.

Domain # 1: Connectivity

This is one area where most publishers are doing a good job for the most part.  That may be largely to do with the approach many have taken in offering up OS-specific native applications. I’ve found it’s rare for a publisher not to be able to execute device targeting. Many can even target specific models within a family of devices (e. g. differentiate Blackberry 9700 from 8900). Increasingly, OS and device targeting should be the minimum expectation.

The second connectivity dimension is geo-targeting. Again, most publishers seem to grasp the inherent importance of location and context in mobile and have built-in capabilities to target location to some degree.

What’s critical here is the increasing granularity in OS, device and geo-targeting to enable messaging and offers that are relevant to device capabilities and user habits and preferences.  Check out Google’s location powered AdWord units.

Domain # 2: Consumer

You could make the case convincingly that location is a consumer domain but here the consumer domain also involves demographic and behavioural dimensions.  Publishers need to know who their audience is by age, gender, income, and so on. This is a stock media targeting request and it’s what advertisers expect. Admittedly, the personal nature of the device can make this information more difficult to gather as privacy hawks circle. But it’s not insurmountable.

The Weather Network in Canada asks for, but doesn’t require, age and sex information upon app activation. That’s a good start.  The mobile ad network JumpTap has created an ad preference manager where consumers can select the types of products and services they receive ads for – and that’s even better.

If location is the ‘where’ and demographic data the ‘who’, then the next ask is the ‘when’. Publishers need to be able to deliver sophisticated day parting options to allow advertisers to heavy up-spend at those times when consumption is heaviest or when their message will have the greatest currency.

Domain # 3: Content

This is basic. Publishers need to have visibility into what content is being consumed and to what degree. Beyond that, there has to be insight into how that differs by OS, device, demographics and geography.

Of course, there’s room for conventional reporting like total unique visitors and page views in aggregate. What’s more powerful, however, is knowing page views by content category, time per visit, frequency of user visits and duration of each visit, content viewed per visit, and content sharing. Each of these represents a potential targeting opportunity and the ability to deliver this data and wrap a story around the implications of these insights will make the case more compelling.

Domain # 4: Conversion

This final domain is a little harder for publishers to report on as they might lack the downstream visibility.  The CPM monetization model also lets a lot of publishers off the hook due to its diminished focus on performance.  The other challenge is the desire to manage advertiser expectations. Committing to a click through rate or conversion percentage is more risk than most publishers could stomach.  However, I’d urge more publishers to meet advertisers half way and offer CPC or CPA models to demonstrate more tangible returns from advertiser campaigns. This suggestion might be driven by a personal bias for mobile advertising as a very compelling direct response tactic than a pure brand play. We’ll see if the iAd changes that view.

The promise of being able to deliver micro-targeting reporting is the ability to have an analytics dashboard that tells when a 34 year old male using an Android device, clicked on an ad about Offer X, while viewing a specific piece of content and a certain time of day at a specific location and then moved through to conversion.

By and large, this is possible. There are privacy and permission issues that must be respected, especially with the location dimension but such nuance is very real. And to be fair, location is not always relevant. However, layering in some of the content dimensions I outlined would create a more powerful story.

The gap is what advertisers and their agencies seem to ask for and how it’s being packaged by publishers.  If publishers are serious about maximizing revenue from the mobile channel, they need to start offering reports at that level of detail, packaging it in a way that makes is clear, compelling and actionable without having to be asked for it or it being an exercise in pulling teeth.

It may sound like I’m being too tough on publishers here. However, I do believe most publishers are working hard to figure out the space and overcome the challenges. If anything, I have sterner words for agencies and advertisers that don’t ask for or mine for valuable data to optimize their buys or deliver device- and consumer- unfriendly post-click experiences.  I still see mobile ad campaigns that click through to a wired web experience or just offer banal product information without any clear or compelling follow-on call to action. It’s shocking!

My closing call to action: If information is power, then the power of the mobile channel is potentially unprecedented. The unique, personal and contextual dimensions of the device enable a granular picture of ad interaction and response. And it shouldn’t require a multi-million dollar budget (I’m looking at you iAd…). The data exists and we should use it wisely and in a way that benefits all parties – consumers, advertisers, agencies and publishers.

NOTE: As I’m in Canada, this is mostly directed at my fellow Canucks. Publishers and agencies in other parts of the world seem to be more on top of things (correct if that’s wrong…). But if anyone gets something out of this piece, I’m happy.

I’d also really welcome dialogue on the topic from publishers. I’ll admit to not having seen the full scope of every publisher’s mobile advertising and analytics offering. If you’re a publisher and are taking steps or have solutions to bridge these gaps, please share.

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Yesterday Google officially launched their Chrome to Phone extension. This concept, which was introduced at the recent Google I/O conference in May, is a simple: If you use the Google Chrome browser and have an Android phone running Android 2.2, you can install an app on both that allows you to instantly transfer whatever web content you are consuming to your mobile phone.

As they usually do, Google has created a video demonstrating the concept:

Cool, right?

Variations on this already exist for Firefox and there are rumblings of it being expanded to other mobile operating systems.

While you would be right in saying this is really only relevant for a small subset of the overall consumer market given Chrome’s and Android 2.2’s market share, that argument won’t hold water for much longer. Availability across other browsers, porting to other mobile OS’s, Android’s skyrocketing market share and ever increasing Smartphone penetration mean wider use is very much on the horizon.  And can Apple really be far behind with something similar?

It’s such a powerfully simple and useful application that uptake is inevitable.

What it spotlights is the need for brands to have a mobile-friendly web destination (as if there weren’t enough reasons already). If consumers are engaged enough with a piece of content to port it from web to phone, it better be a good experience for them on their mobile devices. You content is going for a walk and you’ll trip consumers up if it’s not optimized for the mobile context.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere how full web capable browsers with pinch and zoom functionality is a weak excuse for not investing in mobile web properties. Pinch and zoom is not an innovation. It’s a stop gap at best.  Full web browsing on a mobile device is an awkward experience. It requires additional and unnecessary consumer actions and neglects the fact that mobile context brings with it content and design distinctions.

This is why native mobile apps are so popular. They feel natural on the device. They meet user expectations for a seamless, scaled and efficient experience.

I feel that good marketing makes it as easy as possible for consumers to interact with your brand, your product, your service when they want and how they want.

Welcome to web to mobile world. It’s where brand meets hand. Don’t have sweaty palms.

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If you’re a brand marketer looking to establish a mobile footprint, there are three important questions you should be able to answer to set the foundation for sustainable and modular mobile programming.

I’m not going to give you the answers. There are too many variables unique to your brand, your product/service and your customers to address these properly here…and that’s why there’s an industry built around mobile marketing and advertising.

This is a quick post to hopefully orient your thinking about mobile in a way that will set you up for verifiable success that offers your customer genuine and recurring value.

1. How discoverable is your brand via mobile?

Check your web analytics. Getting visits from mobile devices? What’s the experience like for them (god help you if your site has flash)? People are using mobile devices to source information. But mobile devices and user context require different design and content strategies. Make your mobile web presence customer friendly.

Use SMS and QR codes to activate media and promotions, build a mobile database and establish a permission-based on device interaction with customers. Always keep the value exchange in mind. It should be heavily weighted towards to consumer and deliver clear, compelling and ideally repeatable experiences.

If you’ve jumped into apps, how are you driving awareness via existing brand properties and mobile advertising (display + search)? CTRs are high. Consumers are willing. There’s a great opportunity to bridge between ads and other mobile destinations or even to physical destinations.

2. How are you addressing customer fragmentation?

Fragmentation is more commonly used to describe versioning within operating systems that creates development and support headaches. It’s a big issue. I’d argue a bigger issue for brands is customer fragmentation. Not only are consumers spread across the 3 or 4 major Smartphone operating systems, there are also differences in which features consumers are using and to what extent. And never mind the Smartphone vs. Feature phone user.

Understand your customer habits, preferences and device profiles to guide how to best address your target audience.

3. How are you balancing experimentation with ROI?

For many organizations mobile has the ‘experimental channel’ yoke around its neck. Marketers are mandated to deliver clear and favourable ROI.  How to balance this? First accept the test and learn mentality as a good thing and not inconsistent with great ROI. Think beyond the single campaign towards a sustained presence.  Mobile is highly measurable so set clear objectives and goals at the start. Don’t be afraid to iterate and definitely stay abreast of new technologies and tactics.

Mobile isn’t going anywhere. Embrace it and be determined how to make it work for your brand and you will prosper.

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It’s an unfortunate truth that many potentially successful mobile marketing + mobile advertising campaigns fall flat because the end to end experience has not been properly thought through.

The biggest culprit for this is a post click experience that directs the consumer to a non-optimized mobile web experience.

I continually see mobile advertising or QR code driven executions that push people who have done exactly what you want them to – click on the ad or scan the code – being taken to a wired web destination.

Pinch and zoom full web browsers that are common on most advanced Smartphone allow you to view wired websites with some degree of success (unless you’re using Flash) but don’t remove the fact that:

a) you’re forcing consumers to work harder than they need to in order to get where you want them to go

b) consumer context and need are often vastly different when on mobile than when comfortably seated in front of a desktop.

Two recent examples documented by mobile dude Phil Barrett at Burning the Bacon and pop culture academic Sidneyeve Matrix at CyberPop! drive this point home.

In each case, the failure to match expectations with experience created friction for the consumer and ended with dissatisfaction. In each case, people who were genuinely engaged with what was being offered are now disappointed with the brand and have blogged about it.

Regardless of the mobile channel you are using, put the consumer experience first, understand the habits and expectations, think through the various campaign touch points and ensure a seamless flow from initial interaction to value exchange to gratification.

Mobile can and should be frictionless. Good mobile marketing always is.

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Note: This article was originally written for and appeared on MobileMarketer.com

I sat recently on a panel about mobile marketing analytics at the eMetrics Toronto conference.  It was a wide ranging discussion on marketers’ use of mobile advertising, the mobile web, apps and even SMS, as well as a debate on how mobile campaign success should be defined and measured.

While my fellow panellists and I were not short on opinions, it was an audience comment that struck me as particularly revealing and raised a number of important issues for brands building their mobile web properties.

The comment went something like this:

“We’ve built a number of mobile websites for clients but we find that when mobile users visit the full web version, they stay on that version of the site even when presented with an option to switch to a mobile optimized view.”

Scary stuff if you’re invested in the mobile web space. But let’s unpack this observation a bit as there’s a lot we can learn here.

Now, it wasn’t the right forum to ask a ton of follow up questions and I didn’t get to speak to the gentleman who posed the question after the panel, so I’m going to make a couple of assumptions:

• The full web version of the site is served up as default regardless of whether the visitor comes from a computer or a mobile phone.
• Most visitors tracked or referenced had devices with full web capable browsers such as an iPhone or Android device.

There’s also some important information that we just don’t know:

• Who are the clients in question? What is their business, what are their products or services?
• How are the full web sites built? Flash heavy? Mostly HTML?
• How prominently was the ‘mobile view’ link displayed?
• What is the content being consumed by mobile visitors and how does that compare to a wired visitor?
• How do mobile visitor site visit times, page views per visit and bounce rates compare to wired visitors?

When I heard the remark, I proposed that this situation actually created a great testing point for him and his clients. Instead of having the full web version set as default for mobile browsers, use device detection and serve up the mobile optimized version and see how many switch to the full web version.

With this type of A/B test, you can now see how a mobile-friendly version impacts content consumption, visit times, page views and bounce rates and then bake that information back into your content strategy and site design.

If your mobile site is already well designed with a data-driven content strategy, you should see improvement across page views and bounce rates. What happens to your visit times will depend more on the content you’re offering and the nature of your business. Is the information ‘snackable’ or response-driven like it would be for a retailer? Or, are you a publisher whose content naturally demands more sustained consumption?

The case for having a mobile site has been well stated elsewhere and there’s plenty of evidence supporting the development of a tailored mobile experience to account for unique mobile behavioral dimensions and device capabilities.

The real outcome of this exchange, for me, was a clear, broad definition of how to road-map your mobile web development from an analytics gathering to development input perspective. Here’s a four-step high level view:

Step 1: Use existing web analytics to gain a view into mobile visitor devices, content preferences and usage patterns.

Step 2: Develop a content strategy based on content preferences and consumption patterns. Develop a design strategy based on device and OS trends. Consider how content consumption relates to a user’s context.

Step 3: Leverage device capabilities (e.g. GPS, accelerometer, camera, and messaging) based on content strategy and contextual relevance. Wherever possible, build in response mechanisms.

Step 4: Test the mobile version against wired web norms and mobile content and design premises using mobile-centric analytics. If behavior fails to validate premises, adjust accordingly.

Just because something is working, doesn’t mean it is delivering maximum performance. A streamlined mobile version of your website will likely do a better job at delivering against KPIs than a full web version viewed on the device. To make sure it does, use the data you already have at your fingertips.

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If you’re at all interested in the mobile marketing space, you should be reading MobileMarketer.com and the Mobile Commerce Daily.

Combined they offer great campaign coverage, industry trends and thought leadership across the entire range of mobile marketing, advertising and commerce.

They also put out a series of reference guides called the Classic Guides. These go deep on specific subjects such as mobile advertising, women in the mobile space and predictions for the year ahead.

This year, I’m thrilled to have an article included in their second annual Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce.  My article is on page 18 where I talk about how to nurture your existing customers into the mobile channel.  Since you’ve already established a relationship with these customers, they’re going to be extremely influential in the uptake of this new brand touch point.

My thinking has evolved since I wrote this piece but I still feel it offers some good foundational advice. Hope you agree and hope you take the time to read all the other articles. There’s a lot of great learning contained in that guide.

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The always excellent “Do Something” column in Fast Company struck a particularly relevant chord with me this month.  Here’s the lead:

Sending a text or clicking to vote may be the trendy way to help humankind. The question, says Nancy Lublin, is whether such so-called slacktivism really works.

The conclusion is that any kind of activism should be encouraged and some of these efforts, though they require less commitment on the part of participants, have a real and significant impact. Case in point is the massive amount of donations generated via SMS in response to the earthquake in Haiti. The blog Mobile Behaviour points out that this kind of frictionless participation empowers an altruistic impulse that is particularly appealing to GenX and Millennials who are used to immediate gratification and on-demand experience.

What made this resonate for me is the explicit acknowledgment that understanding nuances in your target consumer’s motivations, habits and preferences is vital for developing solutions that deliver positive returns.

Younger generations have behaviours that don’t map easily onto credit card donations, door to door solicitations or getting up on Saturday morning to volunteer. That’s not to say these groups aren’t deeply committed to community engagement – they most certainly are – it’s more the model of that engagement is distinct from what has been done before and is ingrained in institutional and organization DNA. The good news for brand marketers is that these insights readily extend beyond activism and into the “for profit” world.

Here’s a three-point lens for evaluating how to ‘mobilize’ key demographics like GenX & Y and Millennials (or any consumer really).  Admittedly, each of these should be front and center in any demand generation/customer acquisition exercise so the comments I’ll make focus on attributes specific to engagement in the mobile channel.

1. What behaviours or preferences are you leveraging to maximize the relevance of the offer/experience?

Mobile is highly contingent on context. Where someone is and what they are doing at that moment.  Typically there are three response exchanges – reward, inform or entertain. Are you able to offer something that fulfills those needs? Are you able to create a meaningful reason to ask for an opt-in for future communications? How are you positioning your offer to deliver substantial one-off value or recurring utility that will drive repeat engagement?

For those who thrive off instant gratification, knowing that I can send a text message in 10 seconds and contribute $10 towards a relief effort is an immediate validation of my contribution.  If the confirmation also included a running total of all SMS donations I would also gain knowledge of the scope of our efforts.

2. How are you ensuring you’re reaching customers with the highest conversion probabilities?

This really comes down to a media planning and analytics exercise. Where are your consumers browsing? Which apps are they using? Are you better off bridging from traditional media with SMS or image response activations? What are you doing differently for new customers vs. your existing customers?

You need the data – mobile device penetration, feature use, media consumption patterns, etc… – if you’re going to make informed decisions about how to best allocate your media dollars and optimize your conversion rates.

Though SMS donations resonated with certain groups, your grandmother probably still wants to donate by handing a crisp bill to an official representative of the charity.  An example that might be at either extreme of the spectrum but the core truth holds – Know those differences.

3. Are you creating as frictionless an experience as possible?

The SMS donations work because it takes seconds and the gratification is instant. Same goes for adding a ribbon to a Twitter profile or donating my Facebook status to a cause. Each of these actions is literally completed with a couple of clicks.

This attitude should be baked into your mobile experiences too. Does you mobile ad click to an optimized website (you’d be surprised how often this isn’t the case)?  Has your app been thoroughly tested to avoid a buggy launch? Does the call to action you’ve integrated into your print ad follow best practices around short codes or 2D bar codes?

If you aren’t diligent, opportunities to tune out will pop up at all points along the experience chain. The focus has to be on driving from acquisition to activation as seamlessly as possible.

The promise of mobility is to make life easier – easier to connect with your social graph, easier to entertain yourself, easier to solve problems ‘out in the world’, easier to stay informed…and so on.  It’s really not about ‘slacking’; it’s about facilitating experiences that maximize impact with minimal disruption.

Re-posted from: The Digital Cement Round Table

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In the past month or so, I’ve been contributing content to the newly launched Digital Cement blog – The DC Round Table.

The blog is the work of our demand generation team and the subject matter focus is SEO/SEM, social media and mobile. I’m contributing the latter…surprise!

I’ve four posts up there that you might find interesting:

1. Ready, Set, Go! A DC Mobile Kickoff

In this post, I outline the Digital Cement mobile practice, our philosophy, a bit on the service offering and some questions we use to frame all mobile marketing discussion.

2.  Does Your SEM Strategy Include Mobile?

This post talks about a stat Google released about the connection between mobile search queries and location. I’ve added some content and outline two important distinctions between web and mobile search. Nothing ground-breaking, but some hopefully useful ‘get -started’ stuff.

3.  Mobile Marketing: Toronto Public Health and SMS Success

Here I look at a recently launched program aimed at helping youth discuss sexual health issues and providing discreet ways to access sexual health resources.  I share some the program experience and discuss the reasons why I feel this is, strategically and tactically, a very solid program. Hint: It’s got something to do with how much teens text.

4. Canadians, SMS and Sore Thumbs

The CWTA has released numbers for the volume of text messages sent by Canadians. They show impressive growth in both peer to peer and short code messaging and I offer some brief comments on considerations for SMS as a customer acquisition and CRM tool.

Hopefully something catches your eye.

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Put your hands up if you have a mobile phone within arm’s reach. Did everyone raise their hands (mentally if not physically)? I’m willing to bet ‘Yes’.

Mobile, specifically Smartphones, has become an essential tool for business professionals. Sales, Marketing, IT and Finance professionals would lead the way, but just about any mid-level or above executive from the largest Fortune 500 to the scrappy start-up is likely surgically attached to their mobile.

A recent MarketingProfs article offered up Five Reasons Why Mobile Marketing is Prime for B2Bs. If you’re stretched for time, they are: Explosive Adoption Rates; Fulfilling Business Centric Needs; A Unique Personal Channel; New Ways Into Their Worlds and More Show, Less Tell. There’s some solid thought backing up those points and some questions marketers should be asking themselves. The bottom line if you’re a B2B marketers – your customers are constantly using these devices, why aren’t you using them to reach your customers?

It’s a good question.

My two cents is that mobile has been so heavily focussed on B2C marketing that the guidelines, best practices and case studies that typically help ease you into a new channel are lacking or not getting enough exposure.

To help, the author of the MarketingProfs piece also posted a presentation outlining a 10 step starter guide for B2B mobile marketing.  I find myself agreeing with the bulk of the points raised but want to offer 3 specific recommendations not covered in either piece that can help you in your B2B mobile planning.

1. Dig Into Google Analytics

If your website is currently using Google Analytics (or other analytics programs) it will be able to tell you the amount of traffic your site is receiving from mobile phones. You should also be able to see visits broken down by operating system allowing you to begin developing a profile of your mobile customer.  To be blunt, every one of those visits to your site was a lost customer opportunity. Even devices like the iPhone which have a better browsing experience still have limits (pinch and zoom, no flash) and a mobile visitor likely has different interests from a wired visitor.  Failing to understand who those customers are, what they’re looking for and then serving it up seamlessly means disappointment.

2. Nurture Customers Towards Mobile

Talk to your customers. One on one interviews or more mass polls can help you gather genuine insights into how they use their mobile and what mobile content would be most valuable to them. Once you have a mobile program plan and are pushing towards a launch, seed mobile-friendly touch points prior to any new property or campaign launch. For example, make sure your outbound emails are mobile optimized (you should be doing this anyway). Begin to generate permissions to communicate via mobile through web form or email data capture. Simple and relatively cost-effective steps like this will help establish a mobile-primed audience.

3. Build In Circular Thinking

What I mean by ‘circular thinking’ is identifying tactical pathways that lead you from acquisition to conversation. You want to be able to create a frictionless loop from acquisition to engagement with your content or value proposition to permission to continue the dialogue to a firm opportunity to extend or expand the relationship. What makes this circular is the ability to repeat the ‘engagement-permission-expansion’ process again and again as you learn more about your customer and can offer more targeted communication and increase the value of your mobile marketing.  The devil is in the details with this approach but the payoff will be worth the effort and will give you much clearer visibility into your campaign ROI.

The final recommendation I’ll make isn’t related to B2B mobile marketing as much as it’s a general comment about risk. Mobile will continue to be unproven until you test and learn and figure out how to best use the channel. Is the bigger risk a modest budget to launch a mobile program or the lost business opportunities by not being there?

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In the last post, I looked at two measurement lenses that tracked revenue and customer habits & preferences.  Return on Insight and Return on Investment give you a view for finding and then converting your target customers.

This post covers the other half of the 4 ROIs – Return on Involvement and Return on Innovation.
Return on Involvement

Involvement is the bookend of Return on Insight.  If Insight is about understanding the customer, then Involvement is about the experience viewed along acquisition and engagement lines.

Acquisition involvement looks at going beyond the click in a mobile ad campaign and converting the consumer. That may be an opt-in, a download or a push to a location. In each case, a consumer action generated a tangible brand involvement.

Mobile can also test your customer’s involvement with your other media channels. The common example is a text message call to action that entices with an offer. Unique keywords help you determine which media was most effective in driving involvement. But you should also be including a mobile URL or pushes to an app download if you have those touch points. If your mobile efforts are really mature, image recognition tactics can also capitalize on mobile’s ability to bridge experiences.

Engagement dimensions provide you with the ammunition to continually improve your offering and create conditions for deeper and more frequent customer interactions.

Adding response mechanisms such as coupons or bridges to second-level experiences to SMS deployments helps you learn what offers and incentives drive conversions.  Any web or app program should vigilantly monitor what activity is occurring: which features are being used, for how long and when.

Mobile efforts suffer when siloed, in terms of cross-media integration and  singular campaigns. If you can earn some share of a customer’s mobile, use that opportunity to deliver ever increasing relevance and utility. That drives Involvement.

Return on Innovation

Tying all of the other three ROIs together is Return on Innovation.  Consider mobile as a platform. The device offers at least seven different channels (voice, email, messaging, media, web, apps, and advertising) for connecting to your customers. Each of these channels requires strategic consideration and tactical innovation.

Extending your digital footprint and engaging customers in new and compelling ways can be hugely powerful for driving brand awareness and favourability, customer relationships, propensity to purchase and revenue.

Innovation can lead to connecting with customers in new ways, but also connecting with new customers. Those who might have never given your brand a thought may be attracted to a program that speaks to how they like to consume information and interact with their environment.

I suppose innovation is in large part qualitative, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be measured.

Customer metrics, like new acquisitions, frequency of interaction, opt-ins & outs, revenue per customer and so on, can be double counted with other ROIs while showing how you are winning with mobile.

Product & media metrics, like messages sent, visits, bounce rates, time per visits, feature use, CPMs, CTRs and beyond, help you understand what your channels mean for brand reach and how you’re making new connections.

My one warning for innovating is beware of excluding customers for the sake of producing a shiny object. Explore ways to attract new customers while furthering your relationship with existing customers simultaneously.

Real innovation, for me, involves creating value across your customer profiles and lifecycle stages.

I’ll close with as tidy a summary as I can manage:

• Insight = who + where
• Involvement = what + how
• Innovation = why
• Investment = how much.

Hopefully, these overviews have given you a starting point for earning tangible returns from your mobile programs.

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