As mobile marketing continues to get traction there are some important trends we can watch to see mobile marketing begin to settle into life in the mainstream.
1.
Mobile Integrated Events
Mobile marketing and events are a perfect match – a crowd of people contained in one location with a common purpose or interest. It is an important trend that more and more events are being integrated with mobile because everyone in the audience then becomes one more person who has been exposed to mobile marketing and will then be more likely to participate in the future. It helps it become normal.
Although I am not a big fan of watching the national political conventions (I think they’ve strayed too far from democracy and turned into being all about publicity, but that’s another story) it is impossible to not hear about what’s going on there.
The 3AM VP candidate announcement via text message aside, what I found very interesting at the Democratic National Convention was the interactive text screen. Delegates could use their cell phones to send text message comments that would show up on a big screen for everyone to see. I particularly enjoyed Dianne Sawyer on Good Morning America talking about how this would happen. She sounded like she was telling us that we had landed on the moon. By the next convention cycle in four years this technology will be so ingrained in our culture it won’t even be worth a mention.
Other celebrities are also tying into mobile marketing at their events – Def Leppard, the US Olympic water polo team, NBC covering the Olympics and even the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
2.
Major Companies Jumping into Mobile Marketing
There is nothing like major brands jumping into something to prove it is settling into everyday life. From the early days of brands marketing on black and white televisions when there were only three channels to now when they are marketing with mobile. Every time another household name level brand uses mobile marketing the closer we are to having mobile marketing be a household word.
Some of the latest big brands jumping into mobile include Chase Bank and Visa, Kroger grocery stores, the Chicago Tribune, JC Penney and Hannah Montana.
3.
Rules and Regulations
Another way to know that something is here to stay is when rules and regulations are defined. What’s that saying? It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. So that’s when an authority figure or the players themselves decide on rules to keep everyone happy and safe because they know the game is going to continue being played.
The Mobile Marketing Association has long had a set of Best Practices but they are now branching out and have a set of guidelines specifically for Bluetooth marketing. They plan on working up some best practices and guidelines for wi-fi, Near-Field Communications (NFC) and location-based services next.
What other trends do you see in mobile marketing?
