INSIGHT: Mobile Marketing & Interaction: Why Asking Permission Is Table Stakes
Editor’s note: Reach and frequency are what brands may think they require for effective advertising. But a raft of reports and recent articles shows that asking permission first is more than good manners; it’s business best practice. In her regular column Lisa Ciangiulli, Director of Marketing, Global Advertising Solutions, Alcatel-Lucent, examines digital youth’s increasing demand for mobile marketing with a more personal touch.
Some five years ago, Mizuko Ito, a cultural anthropologist at Keio University in Japan, burst on the scene with what was back then an amazing observation.
By watching how people interacted with their mobile phones in Japan she concluded that mobile shaped every aspect of our everyday lives. Based on this revelation she co-authored Personal, Portable, Pedestrian, a milestone book whose revolutionary views on mobile and its impact on our relationships, identities, and communications with people, companies and brands, are more pertinent than ever.
In this work, Ito and her colleagues outline the pivotal importance of the mobile phone, based on the fact that it is personal (we customize and personalize mobile devices and consider them an extension of our personal identity); portable (even the Japanese name for mobile, keitai, – roughly translated “something you carry with you” – stresses the relation between the user and the device and not between the technology and function); and pedestrian (because it is portable it’s a perfect fit with life as it happens on-the-street, melding with activities that require partial or sporadic attention such as waiting for a bus, shopping, or – in the case of children – riding a bike).
Fast forward, and we have mounting evidence of just how fiercely personal our relationship to our mobile phones really is. Ito suggested it was intimate, but I’m not sure if that description goes far enough.
FEELING NAKED
Take the 2008 study conducted by the wireless trade association CTIA and Harris Interactive, a market research firm. This survey of some 2,000 teens across the U.S. revealed that respondents feel that mobile phones have become a vital part of their lives and their identities.
Just how vital comes through loud and clear in this comment from a 17-year old who participated in the study:
“Leaving home without my phone almost feels like leaving the house naked.”
A more recent quote, this time from a must-read article in the Guardian, drives this point home – full-force (!)
“I’d rather give up, like, a kidney than my phone.”
Philippa Grogan, the 16-year old interviewed for the piece, can’t imagine how anyone could function without a mobile phone. The article goes on to outline the personal relationship youth have with their mobile phones and their singular focus on communicating with their friends (via text and Facebook update, for example). Connect the dots, and any disturbance in this communications flow – such as uninvited and irrelevant advertising – will correctly be dismissed as annoying spam.
PERSONAL SPACE
Indeed, the mobile phone – essential to most, and akin to an appendage for youth — provides brands and advertisers a tremendous marketing opportunity provided they play by the rules.
These rules, which define what I call engagement marketing, center on asking permission in order to deliver people brand messages they will accept and appreciate. This approach makes perfect business sense in view of the intensely personal relationship people have with their mobile phones. Put simply, it’s their personal device and their personal space – and intruders beware!
An interview with Coca-Cola, which appeared in the Netsize Guide 2009, underlines the importance of permission and preferences.
As Prinz Pinakatt, Manager of Interactive Marketing for Coca-Cola in Europe, put at the time: “We describe the digital space as the dining table. [When you deliver an ad] you are invited to the dining table of the consumer. The mobile phone is even more personal, so it’s sort of the bedroom. Given that this space is so intensely personal brands like us have to be really careful about what we do. A homepage takeover on the mobile phone, for example, might end up immediately in a lawsuit. We have to seek a balance and that’s why we are experimenting a lot…. In some cases, and regions such as Africa, it’s as simple as having a conversation using SMS.”
Whatever approach brands and advertisers take, it’s clear that they must be based on permission, preference and a deep respect for people’s privacy. As mobile becomes even more integrated in our lives and more central to our psyche, companies that attempt to barge in on our personal space will see the door slammed in their face.
Editor’s note: Starting next month a virtual round table on MSG will explore the views of youth around the world, delving into their views on mobile, advertising and their likes/dislikes. How personal is mobile really? Check back and find out! You can also follow MSearchGroove (@msearchgroove) or Optism (@optismww) for updates.
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Lisa Ciangiulli, Director of Marketing for Alcatel-Lucent Global Advertising Solutions, where she has been instrumental in the development and marketing of Optism™, Alcatel-Lucent’s powerful permission-based mobile advertising solution. In this role, and throughout her career, Ciangiulli has spearheaded efforts to encourage cooperation between players across the ecosystem with the ultimate goal of enabling closer communication with the consumer. In May she was named to the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) North America Board of Directors. You can follow her on Twitter (@LisaCiangiulli).
Disclaimer: Optism is an MSG supporter.
