Mobile marketing is an important part of modern day marketing practices. If you think about it, nearly everyone has a mobile device just sitting in their pocket. The websites they choose to use depend person to person, but according to P2P Marketing, “more than 90% of the global population uses mobile phones, and more than 83.72% of the global population owns a smartphone. When it comes to internet access, more than 70% of users access the internet on a mobile device, increasing to over 90% in some regions”. In other words, a lot of people have a lot of phones around them. Just think about how many phones are in one city block in a large city such as New York City.
While we’re imagining things, imagine if a notification was sent to all those users in that city block that went to Taco Bell recently to promote a new product. Just the idea of that notification might be enough to make people hungry, turn around, and go to Taco Bell. Logically, that won’t happen, however, mobile marketing is a good way to generate sales. Having that notification about a promotion, or the reminder from Amazon about an item in your cart, is enough to make you remember that you haven’t been to Taco Bell in a while or you forgot to buy that one item when you got paid from Amazon.
Additionally, there are also customer loyalty programs. If you’re a loyal customer to a place such as McDonalds, you can use your mobile app as a portable punch card so you can always get credit for your coffee addiction. In this age, many people go to fast food restaurants all the time for a quick bite to eat. So it’s even handier to have the mobile app in your pocket, as you can just click and open to see if there’s any promotions or to scan your point card.
Some of the common constraints can include ad campaigns that do not sit well with the general crowd. If an ad campaign is published and it hits wrong with customers, it can lead to a backlash and fall of that marketing campaign. As the Brandon Agency puts it, “If your ads give viewers a negative first impression, unfortunately, that is the one that will matter most”. If the ad doesn’t reach the viewers well, then there’s the possibility of a lot of backlash and angry customers. Two examples of previous backlash include Gap’s logo change and Burger King’s Women’s Day tweet.
For Gap’s logo change, the initial reception was awful. The logo was met with many replies complaining about the change and how ugly the logo looked. According to WordStream, “The backlash was so severe that the company switched back to its old logo within six days.”
In terms of the Burger King tweet, Burger King tried a witty way to promote it’s scholarship campaign – which failed. They started the tweet thread with “Women belong in the kitchen”, leading on with “If they want to, of course” and then ending with their promotion for the new scholarship program. It’s all in good faith, however, according to Wordstream, “Though the first tweet was intended to capture attention and the following two tweets were progressive, many Twitter users never got past the first tweet, resulting in a wave of backlash for the seemingly sexist statement. And those who saw all three tweets still saw it as a tone-deaf attempt to honor Women’s Day”. These tweets ended up in Burger King completing deleting the thread and offering an apology.
How to get around this? Proof reading your ads, understanding your target audience, and getting multiple opinions on the different ads. This way you’ll be able to catch a fault before it goes viral.
Another common constraint is technology itself. Despite most mobile device users having modern devices, according to The Brandon Agency, “
About 80% of phones owned in the U.S. are smartphones, which means that around 20% of consumers are using standard cellphones. While the user might be interested in your ad, some might not be able to access it.” This is why a lot of companies choose to use email marketing campaigns, because email is easy to get on many devices. Even back in the day you could view your email through one of the silly flip phones, despite them having tiny screens. It still worked, you can still view the ads and get the point across. Many of us who might not be 100% tech savvy would have a hard time viewing any additional ads such as on websites or social media, since not everyone uses social media. This is why email campaigns – and even text campaigns too – are good.
“The 8 Biggest Marketing Fails of All Time (with Practical Takeaways).” WordStream, 29 Dec. 2021, https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2021/12/28/marketing-fails.
Sherry Moats. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing.” The Brandon Agency, 10 July 2022, https://www.thebrandonagency.com/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-mobile-marketing/.
“Mobile Marketing: 12 Powerful Strategies & the Ultimate Guide [2022].” P2P Marketing, 9 May 2022, https://peertopeermarketing.co/mobile-marketing-strategy/.
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