- What is mobile marketing?Mobile marketing is promotional activity designed for delivery to cell phones, smart phones and other handheld devices, usually as a component of a multi-channel campaign.
Some mobile marketing is similar to advertising delivered over other electronic channels such as text, graphic and voice messages. SMS messaging is currently the most common delivery channel for mobile marketing. Search engine marketing is the second-most common channel, followed by display-based campaigns.
The expanding capabilities of mobile devices also enable new types of interactive marketing. New mobile marketing channels include:
- location-based service (LBS), which involves detecting the area the user is connecting from (geolocation) and sending marketing messages for businesses in that area.
- augmented reality mobile campaigns, which overlay the user's phone display with location-specific information about businesses and products.
- 2D barcodes, which are
barcodes that scan vertically as well as horizontally to include much more information. A mobile user can scan barcodes in the environment to access associated information. - GPS messaging, which involves location-specific messages that the user picks up when he comes into range.
The Kelsey Group, a marketing research company, predicted that the mobile advertising industry would grow from to $3.1 billion in 2013, up from $160 million in 2008. The firm also predicts that mobile search marketing will account for 73% of mobile marketing by 2013, up from 24% in 2008, and that SMS-based campaigns would shrink to 9%, down from 63% in 2008. Display-based campaigns are expected to stay relatively steady, up to 18% from 13%.
