Firms urged to go mobile with their advertising 

A new study carried out by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in partnership with John Lewis has led to calls for businesses not to ignore the power of smartphones in their managed emarketing strategy.

 

Businesses are being told to ignore mobile potential at their peril, something that any internet marketing consultant would agree with. The study found that mobile advertising increases unprompted awareness a huge 18 per cent from three per cent to 24 per cent. A need for a strong, efficient mobile site was also highlighted in the study as 30 per cent of consumers said that without an adequate site they would not buy goods, or even worse, they would buy them from a competitor.

 

The IAB said that there are a number of key lessons to be learnt by brands from the study including using mobile advertising to increase brand awareness. Mobile advertising increased unprompted awareness amongst those exposed to the advertising by a whopping 822 per cent.

 

Rich media is also worth investing in if companies want to increase cut-through as those who were exposed to an expandable banner were 25 per cent more likely to remember the advertising than those who saw the static banners. Rich media to advanced smartphones also had an increased impact as Android and iPhone users were 50 per cent more likely to recall an expandable banner than other smartphone users.

 

Lastly, the study showed that investment in a mobile-optimised destination site is well worth the time and money if firms want to avoid a potential loss of revenue. A massive 30 per cent of consumers admitted they would take their business elsewhere if the mobile site experience was poor.

 

Alex Kozloff, senior mobile manager at the IAB, said: "This research proves how effective mobile can be for driving a brand message, and especially the added value emerging rich media formats can provide."