Brands Expect Investment in Mobile Marketing to More Than Double in the Next Year

LONDON -

- ad:tech London 2009 set to Address Best Practice for Mobile Marketers Looking to Interact Directly With Consumers Through Their Phone

Marketers are expected to increase investment in mobile this year, as brands continue to recognise mobile as an integrated part of their marketing strategy, according to research from organisers of this year’s ad:tech London 2009. For the first time, the event will also be hosting the Mobile Marketing Show as part of the conference, assessing a number of topics including how advanced, feature-rich mobile devices such as the iPhone have directly affected the market in the past year.

Ahead of this year’s show, research was conducted amongst over 1,000 visitors of last year’s event, which revealed that investment in mobile marketing was expected to more than double this year, with 37 per cent of marketers claiming it would be an area of investment. Earlier this year ABI Research estimated that, as new platforms for ad-supported mobile search, video and gaming content services arrive, mobile marketing will grow to over $24bn worldwide in 2013 from just $1.8bn in 2007.

Andrew Grill , one of the mobile advertising industry’s leading strategists and author of popular mobile marketing blog London Calling commented ahead of his presentation at the show: “Everyone has a mobile, and advertisers are looking to include this new medium in their marketing mix. We need a new approach that is not about reach and frequency - but is about relevancy. With mobile, small is beautiful. As a result, we need more targeted and personalised messages that are actually welcomed by the end user and therefore increases the relevancy of mobile marketing. Hence, ROI and sales conversion - this is what everyone is looking for from mobile.”

As the value of mobile marketing continues to grow, with an estimated market value of GBP28.6 million last year in the UK according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, it offers the opportunity for extremely targeted and personal advertising direct to consumers. There is no question that mobile devices allow consumers to interact immediately with advertising, and many case studies of mobile marketing effectiveness have leveraged this in conjunction with other media channels.

Grill continued; “Mobile is such a personal device, and so we need to treat it in a different way - and learn from all the mistakes we made with the internet 10 years ago - we actually know how the story will end with mobile if we look at the lessons learnt from the early days of the internet.”

Prior to her appearance as a speaker at this month’s ad:tech London, Emily Hare, Production Editor for new marketing strategies magazine Contagious, shared her views on the impact of mobile for marketing professionals: “The iPhone and other mobile devices have revolutionised the market through their apps offering, particularly by allowing third-party developers to programme apps and profit from them. Companies looking to build an app for their brand should aim to create something that is genuinely useful, entertaining and relevant, as without these properties engaging users and driving profits will prove a real struggle.”

Taking place on the 22nd-23rd September at Olympia, ad:tech London has become established as the largest gathering of digital marketing professionals in the UK (www.ad-techlondon.co.uk). This year’s conference programme includes the following discussions and speakers:

Mobile Marketing Effectiveness Revealed

Making sense of the mobile marketing ecosystem and understanding when and How it can work as a key part of marketing strategy. Panel session participants:

- Daniel Rosen, Group Head, AKQA Mobile - Andrew Grill, Mobile Advertising Evangelist & Blogger, London Calling - James Parton, Head of NPD, O2 - Henry Stevens, Business Development Director, GSMA

Mobile Apps Think Tank

How have the iPhone and other mobile devices and technologies Revolutionised the market? What are the new marketing and media opportunities offered by this exploding phenomenon? Panel session participants:

- Emily Hare, Production Editor, Contagious Magazine - Jon Williams, CCO, Grey London - James Easterbrook, Director of Client Services, My Agency - Robert Hamilton, Product Manager, Google

To reflect a growing interest in mobile marketing, the Mobile Marketing Show will bring together the UK’s key agency buyers, brand marketers and mobile marketing vendors to discuss how businesses can more effectively use mobile marketing.

The full conference programme can be viewed at: www.ad-techlondon.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About ad:tech London (www.ad-techlondon.co.uk)

Dedicated exclusively to Interactive Advertising and Marketing Technologies such as Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing and E-Commerce, ad:tech London is the only event in the UK that welcomes marketers from blue-chip companies and SMEs the opportunity to investigate a complete range of end-to-end interactive advertising and marketing solutions. ad:tech London is a unique opportunity for CEO, brand/product managers, marketing directors, media planners/buyers, creative directors, PR managers, campaign managers, agency executives and marketing service providers to reveal latest trends and market figures, share best practices, address industry challenges and further understand how digital can generate results that translate directly into increased performance and greater ROI.

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Source: ad:tech and dmg world media

Media contact: David Ross-Tomlin - d: +44(0)207-025-1505