Mobile Hub: Beyond the sponsored post
In Mobile Hub I’m given to suggesting Mobile decision makers should try to block out the noise, slow down, and take a deep breath, such is the pace of the sector. We need to consume less of our own hype to see challenges more clearly.
As Mobile matures, certain aspects of it’s life-cycle quite naturally play out. Right now, there are a few important transformations underway. There’s of course sustained rapid traffic volume increases right across the board. There’s sluggish adoption of content subscription models. We’ve all observed a reduction in typical click-through-rates (dreadful metric anyway). And we’re also seeing shifts in media trading automation. So in summary, there’s burgeoning supply, but higher expectations of advertising revenues, the basic CTR metric is lower than a year ago, and less human intervention engaged in the process generally. Put those factors into a blender and it’s easy to see why the question, ‘where’s sustainable big yield growth going to come from?’ being answered for many by the hope of ‘native ads’.
Many publishers look upon Facebook’s rapid mobile revenue growth with a mixture of shock and jealousy, and many advertisers seem to be liking the efficiency and effectiveness of this opportunity. Time will tell if users will.
Whether you’re a fan of the term ‘native’ or not, the social media context for many is at the essence of the ‘native’ opportunity. Based on this social only definition, according to BIA/Kelsey, native ads in the U.S. will grow to $3.1 billion this year and reach to $5.0 billion in 2017 (NB this is desktop and mobile). APAC and mobile figures seem difficult to find.
But ‘native’ should enjoy a far wider definition than this, going beyond the news or feed integration example, instead looking at the ad portfolio more holistically encompassing e.g. branded content, high impact custom ad display formats, unique placements, video, and data enriched propositions to the mix. They should all inhabit this ‘native’ space, and do so also co-existing with an optimum standard display and performance suites. For their part, eMarketer state that there was a 20% increases in a more broadly defined ‘native’ ad space in the U.S. in 2013, so there are U.S. organisations investing in their future, however APAC publishers and other audience owners are lagging.
This portfolio approach, creating multiple tiers of both scarce and abundant ad product enabled through a single adtech platform holds the key, but it is without doubt harder to plan and execute. However make no mistake, this is the most important challenge to overcome today. Publishers need to be less focused on sell-through rates, and advertisers less focused on buying at price, with everyone instead making real effort to develop and innovate. At last week’s annual World Federation of Advertisers summit, Sir John Hegarty asked all marketers to be vigilante to not allow process to overtake innovation, and to “turn intelligence into magic”. Hegarty, one of the world’s finest and highest regarded communicators message is clear, organising a marketing campaign really well is no guarantee that it will resonate or actually work. I believe the risks of getting this wrong in mobile are arguably higher, as people are less tolerant of lazy marketing. So we need to balance the drive for efficient delivery and optimisation, with road mapped new innovative ad models.
State of APAC Mobile.
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and analysts Warc jointly conducted an APAC survey into attitudes towards mobile marketing published to coincide with FOMA held in Singapore in March. The survey from over 300 respondents in 24 countries in the region surfaced key themes. The biggest of them is reluctance to invest with 78% allocating 10% or less to mobile budgets. All respondents expect however to see budget allocations growing (up 30% by 2019). The capability gap is most probably the chief inhibiter with 45 percent of respondents saying skill shortages in emerging new technologies is their top concern. Similarly to last months Mobile Hub, there is a data point around the leading mobile markets in the region, (showing real consistency across studies), with most innovative markets being cited as China (43 percent), Singapore (38 percent), Japan (33 percent) and Australia (31 percent), according to this study. Lastly from an industry vertical point of view travel, transport and tourism were seen as the most innovative using mobile (34 percent.) Other notables included leisure and entertainment (32 percent), telecoms (29 percent) and financial services (29 percent). See www.mmaglobal.com/region/apac for detail of this report and a bounty of other insights and resources.
Graham Christie, partner, Big Mobile Group
Please login with linkedin to comment
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.