IAMAI Conclave: Mobile marketing is way forward for brands

It is necessary for marketers to understand mobile well. While pop-ups and banner ads might be annoying, native ads are the way forward

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | May 27, 2016

The last session at the 12th Marketing Conclave of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) witnessed a discussion on how mobile marketing will help brands build themselves.

In a country with the largest penetration of smart phones, advertising on mobile are both a challenge and an opportunity for marketers. A lot of them are trying to look at ways of integrating ads in the form of branded content, native ads, in-app marketing techniques, video ads and a lot more.

Marketers on the panel concurred that mobile marketing is going to change in the coming years. The session was moderated by Chandranshu Mishra, Consultant, Tata Strategic Management Group.

The panellists included Ritza Trivedi, Director Marketing, India and South Asia, Visa; Uday Sodhi, Executive VP and Head, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network; Anuj Kumar, Co-Founder, Executive Director and MD, Affle; Martin Nygate, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gentay Communications; and Lavin Punjabi, President, Affinity

Here is what they had to say:

Ritza Trivedi, Director Marketing, India & South Asia, Visa:

Today, everything is the same. Media is the same, consumers are the same. What has changed are the three 'C's – Context, Content and Consumer. When I say consumer has changed and not changed, it means that his aspirations have changed, while his consumption has remained the same.

If you think mobile is only for the tech savvy or elite, then it is a totally wrong perception. Mobile is ubiquitous, hence it can reach out to everyone, everywhere. Today consumers want everything on demand, including brands. The only problem is that smart phones come with a low memory. To make mobile communication more tight, effective, lean and personalised will take time.

Lavin Punjabi

Lavin Punjabi, President, Affinity:

Consumers want to engage with content. A lot of content marketing is hidden advertising. What we're seeing is consumers love our business as they're engaging 10 times more with us. So if you force him to see your ad in the form of a pop-up or banner ad, then he will be irritated. Today, 3-8 per cent of consumers intentionally engage with our ads. One has to be contextual and do it at the right time.

It is critical to understand advertising on mobile. For instance, video can be horizontal while content is vertical. Some ads have resistance in the modes, especially video ads. One should look at video in both modes and make it more flexible for the user to get a better experience.

Uday Sodhi

Uday Sodhi, EVP & Head, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network:

We are in an exciting space. The industry is still very nascent though. We've seen the first phase rollout of a lot of major brands and the play is fairly large. Once content consumption happens, then it will happen on mobile. While television remains a family viewing experience, mobile will be a single personal device. Additionally, with Wi-Fi becoming ubiquitous, we will see digital video consumption rise. We are seeing it at almost all places we go, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and many more such places.

Martin Nygate, Founder & CEO, Gentay Communications:

We believe the industry is in crisis. We did a survey with 3,000 people in India and found that most of them find mobile ads annoying, especially pop-up ads and banner ads. The new idea in mobile advertising is videos. It is a great idea to create engagement with video ads. Video ads consume data even if you don't get to see it.

We talk about videos and consumption. Many people in urban markets are already doing everything. For us, the real target audience is in tier II and III cities where they are aware of when to switch on and switch off data. That is the real challenge and opportunity.

Anuj Kumar

Anuj Kumar, Co-Founder, Executive Director and MD, Affle:

The principles of marketing remain the same. What needs to be done is creation of engaging communication delivered to the relevant person. Apart from that, one needs to enhance consumer experience by engagement.

I don't agree with Martin's survey. People are not annoyed by mobile ads. Ads consuming data is something that is over-rated according to me. It is like saying switch off the television because the advertisement is consuming electricity. On a mobile device, data is bound to be consumed, though not such a high percentage.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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