By JT Benton, Vice President, Mobile Marketing Division, DoublePositive
Summary
Mobile marketing budgets will rise meaningfully in 2013, but not just in the brand categories (as others have predicted). While upper funnel spend will certainly show the most impressive gains, look for material shifts in the performance markets, as well. Mobile marketing that drives inbound phone calls will continue to lead growth and introduce a better-aligned process for Advertisers, Publishers and Consumers.
The Boom (in Mobile):
• In 2011, mobile devices outsold PC’s and laptops. That’s the first time this has ever happened.
• The average smartphone user spends nearly one hour consuming mobile web content, daily.
• 67 percent of US adults between 18 and 24 own a smartphone. 71 percent of 25-34 year olds, too.
• Google’s sites have a 96.3 percent reach of US smartphone users.
What this means for Performance Marketers
The above can lead us to draw meaningful conclusions about the entire digital marketing ecosystem (or, funnel). Much of this has been covered elsewhere by experts in brand advertising, so we’ll stick to what we know: the performance markets. For businesses who concern themselves with buying leads and tracking their performance to an acquisition target, the growth of mobile should be very, very good news. It may have taken some time for mobile to mature, but big, systemic problems are beginning to find solutions as Advertisers and Publishers follow Consumers into a new web medium. Mobile has arrived in the cost-per-lead ecosystem and appears to be a long-term disruptor.
Here’s what’s been wrong with Performance Marketing:
It’s no secret that lead originators are challenged to find valuable inquiries. Exclusive inquiry sources have become scarce, fraud and incentivization are established (and widespread) problems, and contact rates decline. Simultaneously, pressure on media buyers to find new sources of high quality leads has grown.
The lead generation market has grown into a state of misalignment. The agendas of key stakeholders run counter to one another. Here’s how this normally happens, today:
• The Consumer, who would normally have an exclusive interest in a product or service, fills out a form and hits submit. Then the phone starts ringing and the emails flow. In some cases, the sales push is coming from multiple companies and the consumer becomes a non-exclusive lead.
• The Advertiser thought they were getting an inquiry from an interested customer. They didn’t know they were actually buying access to a non-exclusive record. Predictably, lead performance is low, and the Advertiser is unhappy.
• The Publisher is held accountable for the above quality issues. Poor lead quality leads to finger-pointing and accusations of fraud. The Publisher has little defense, even though there are other factors to take into account. The Publisher stands alone, without information or leverage.
Here’s how Mobile can help marketers with above, immediately:
• Mobile search and display campaigns featuring format-appropriate calls to action will bring net-new consumers to the market. These less ‘fatigued’ consumers will introduce quality.
o Establishing a phone call as the deliverable makes an advantage of mobile device limitations and leads to 100 percent contact rates and exclusivity by default (Consumers who make an outbound phone call share no lead form data; this means networks can’t sell multiple inquiries).
• Transacting around a valuable deliverable will align each major player in a lead transaction, placing the highest importance on the Consumer.
o Consumers are in a position to drive the entire experience. Less risk of predatory selling.
o Advertisers engage with net-new customers at a 100 percent contact rate.
o Publishers grow a sustainable business and add value consistently.
The Answer Is Alignment
The above should clearly show our belief that Mobile Marketing can solve the misalignment concerns that exist in the lead generation industry. Relevant data suggests a shift in the way consumers prefer to consume – and request – information. Our belief is that all of this points to Mobile being a very, very relevant solution for marketers of direct response products and services. And we think this will all come through the ongoing adoption of mobile call tracking technology.
What Is Mobile Pay-per-Call? And, is it Really New?
Most performance marketers have at least some familiarity with Pay-per-Call marketing, which refers to a range of telecom-related advertising programs where the advertiser pays only for inbound phone calls or transfers that meet their criteria (pay on call, or pay on sale). We should note that while this is innovative, it is not really new. Originating in traditional media outlets such as radio, television and print, Pay-per-Call was re-pioneered recently with significant help from companies like RingRevenue and Google to bring it closer into alignment with online Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising.
The landscape shifted significantly during the past two years as the rather dormant model caught up with the rapidly increasing adoption of mobile devices. When deployed on the mobile web – on landing pages, banner display and in-app advertising – this technology introduced an entirely new strategy for generating highly qualified and intent inquiries. The result is a format that is entirely aligned with the mobile user’s best experience. Mobile click-to-call is Pay-Per-Call on the Mobile Web, using dynamic technology to facilitate interactive and immediate Direct Response action.
When implemented properly with good partners, mobile click-to-call generates inbound calls and delivers a 100 percent contact rate – something no data lead generation program can promise at scale. By leveraging a 3rd party technology platform, such as RingRevenue, and a proven, performance-based mobile network of high quality publishers, mobile click-to-call allows advertisers to pay only for phone calls from interested consumers that meet their specific requirements. In simpler terms, the format facilitates inquiries from net-new customers in real time.
Why Mobile Click-To-Call Works
Again, mobile marketing that delivers a phone call (click-to-call) works because it aligns the parties to a lead transaction. Advertisers gain access to net-new customers who might not be otherwise entering their sales funnel. Publishers are able to add real value. And, Consumers get to drive the entire experience. Here are some other key benefits:
Lead exclusivity – because the Consumer is taking an inbound call action, the leads are exclusive to a single advertiser.
Trackability and Reporting – Dynamic call routing technology, such as the technology suite offered by RingRevenue, allows marketers to assign different phone numbers to each ad unit – ad infinitum – so the parties involved can track each source with absolute clarity, in real time.
Easy to use – Mobile click-to-call is easily deployed. With the right technology partner, arranging a significant data-set test is simple and seamless.
Lower risk – While lead costs may outpace that of data leads, with 100 percent contact rates, the effective price-per-contacted-consumer gives the test budget a lower risk profile and greater longevity.
Better targeting – Media buyers can use mobile marketing to expand their reach to consumers where they are and when they’re most interested, without being bound by desktop and laptop restrictions.
Valuable Consumer experience – the Consumer drives the experience by taking real action and placing a call. Happy shoppers buy more frequently.
Conclusion
There are powerful trends that signal mobile marketing to become a very big part of the Performance Marketing Industry’s aggregate spend. Specifically, driving net-new mobile inventory to a customer-driven conversion medium gives performance marketers something they have long been searching for: alignment. The model is centered on the idea that it can provide real value to the Consumer, the Advertiser and the Publisher, in concert.
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JT Benton is the Vice President of Mobile Marketing for DoublePositive. There, he and his colleagues have built a leading mobile advertising network for Performance Marketers. MobilePositive provides an aligning venue through which Consumers, Publishers and Advertisers can see real value and scale from the mobile web, while always focusing on the consumer experience. They promise a 100 percent contact rate and guaranteed exclusivity – and they add value to every inquiry.
DoublePositive Marketing Group, Inc. drives customers to advertisers through industry-leading performance-based online marketing services, including live telephone transfers, mobile click-to-call, and direct response online media (search, display, social). Founded in 2004, DoublePositive deploys proprietary technology and analytics to optimize the entire online marketing funnel, from display (CPM) to search (CPC) to leads/calls (CPA/CPL) to live transfers (CPT). Direct response advertisers seeking a greater volume of high quality, net-new leads, at scale and at the cost they specify, are invited to learn more at www.doublepositive.com.
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Business Intelligence: the Future of Mobile. March 22, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-future-of-mobile-deck-2012-3?op=1
Advertising Age: Mobile Fact Pack – a Guide to Mobile Advertising; 2012 Edition. August, 2012. P. 14.
Advertising Age: Mobile Fact Pack – a Guide to Mobile Advertising; 2012 Edition. August, 2012. P. 16.
Advertising Age: Mobile Fact Pack – a Guide to Mobile Advertising; 2012 Edition. August, 2012. P. 16.
RingRevenue.
Millenial Media S.M.A.R.T. Report: Telecom Advertisers vs. All Advertisers – November 2011. (Study indicates most likely post-mobile click action to be a placed phone call.)
