Mobile advertising: creativity is essential when targeting our window on the world

It was gratifying therefore to see that, not only were most of the nominees at The Drum’s 2016 Mobile on Marketing Awards (MOMAs) up for a prize because of their creativity, but that the creativity was genuinely inspiring.

Particularly notable was Samsung’s World Cup 360 degree Video, nominated in the Best Use of Video category. Created to highlight Samsung’s partnership with the England Rugby team in the run up to the World Cup, it used technology developed specifically for mobile to encourage viewers to immerse themselves in the content by changing the viewpoint on a rugby video as they moved their phone. It is testament to the quality of the award entries that this wasn’t the overall winner, but in our mind it is paving the way for mobile video campaigns of the not-too-distant future.

But why is creativity so important in programmatic mobile video advertising?

The answer lies in the relationship that most of us have with the mini personal computer – where the emphasis is firmly on personal - that is invariably in our pocket or bag wherever we are. Our window on the world, our mobiles allow us to be always on, always available, always informed, always entertained.

Woe-betide anyone or anything that hinders or threatens this balance, interrupting what is preciously guarded as ‘me time’, and many column inches have been filled discussing the industry problem that is ad blocking. To my mind, just as significant for advertisers is that almost half the respondents to Quantcast’s Mobile & Me survey reported that irrelevant mobile adverts make them feel more negative to the culprit brand.

In other words, getting a mobile ad wrong is worse that no ad at all.

However, on the flip side, although the personal element of mobile makes it more challenging, it also opens the door to a whole new world of marketing. Recent research by Yahoo found that mobile offers the best opportunities to engage with consumers because it can deliver communications that are relevant and meaningful at times when people are most receptive to them. Indeed, people reported that they actively welcomed engagement from brands when they were shopping, travelling and, in particular, relaxing.

One of mobile’s many assets is its ability to combine location-based data with context. Taking a very simple example, someone shopping in the high street on a Saturday is likely to respond to different triggers to when they are watching television later that evening.

All of which steers the discussion back to creativity. No longer limited to different ads for different target audiences (although this is important too), creative teams can now focus on the same audience segment, developing alternative content that reflects their changing activities and sentiment as they move through their daily activities.

Combining that with the continual developments in smartphone technology that enable campaigns such as the Samsung one above will enable mobile to truly deliver; for advertisers, publishers and, the all-important consumer.

TabMo are a sponsor of The Drum MOMA Awards more details and the full list of 2016 winners can be found here at the MOMAS and at TabMo.