Final Year Project Report

On

Marketing via Mobile Appvertisement

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for award of

POST GRADUATION DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT
In
MARKETING and FINANCE
(Approved By AICTE, Govt Of India)
Academic Session 2012 14

SUBMITTED BY
Sapna Arora
Roll No. : FC12165

SUBMITTED TO
Mrs Deepika Saxena
Associate Processor

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me the possibility to
complete this report. I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been
possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to
extend my sincere thanks to all of them.
First and foremost, I would like to thank to our Faculty mentor of this project, Mrs Deepika
Saxena, Associate Professor, JIMS for the valuable guidance and advice. She inspired us
greatly to work on this project. Her willingness to motivate, contributed tremendously to the
project.
This project is an attempt to study Marketing via Mobile Appvertisement

-------------------------Sapna Arora

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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled Marketing via Mobile Appvertisement
submitted to Jims Institute of Management and Studies as a part of the PGDM curriculum, is a
record of an original work done by me under the guidance of Associate Prof, Mrs. Deepika
Saxena (Faculty Guide, JIMS) and this project work is submitted in fulfillment of requirement
for the award of the PGDM. The results embodied in this project have not been submitted to any
other university or company for the award of any degree or diploma.

Sapna Arora

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PREFACE
A technologist said, THE THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE REINFORCED WITH THE
PRACTICAL WORK MAKES AN MBA PERFECT IN HIS FIELD.
And hence, going by this quote, we have prepared this project which has proved to be of a
specialized nature. During the tenure of this project, we could understand the practical aspect of
the subject matter which till now we could read only in the relevant books. We are confident that
the findings from this project would prove to be very helpful and prove to be an asset.
In the following project we have tried to use our academic knowledge on marketing research into
practical use. We have tried to research on Marketing via Mobile Appvertisement

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CONTENTS
S.No.

Chapter

Page No.

Abstract

Literature Review

Introduction

10

Smartphone Trend: Theoretical Perspective

13

Research Methodology

17

Advantages of Mobile Apps

21

Successful branding stories

28

Industries having successful Mobile Apps

31

Effective Mobile Marketing Strategy

33

10

Conclusions and Recommendations

37

11

Bibliography and References

38

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ABSTRACT
Smartphone and Tablet revolution is taking place across all generations, geographical regions,
cultures and age groups. It has become the most personal device with communication media that
a consumer carries and hence marketers cannot ignore developing their brand presence via these
devices. Mobile devices provide opportunity to marketers to reach their consumers when they are
on the go and away from the other media. Mobile Apps are the latest trends that are sitting in
these mobile devices and providing key differentiators on top of traditional media in terms of

Deeper and enriching engagement with the Consumers

Brand building, presence and awareness among consumers

Measurable determination of consumer behaviour

Personalized and Targeted segment of consumers

One to one communication with real time feedback

Mobile marketing via SMS, Mobile Banner Ads and Mobile web provides one way
communication channel and mostly deployed by marketers as part of outbound marketing. But,
mobile apps enable engagement using bi-directional channel of inbound marketing. Its the brand
merchandise for the mobile generation, reminding you that the brand is there with you, and for
you. Several categories of mobile apps such as gaming, social networking, travel, productivity,
communication are emerging and hence providing opportunities to several businesses to connect
to their consumers / customers.

There are many successful branding stories that have emerged because of mobile apps and
marketers need to develop an effective strategy to integrate this new media with their overall
brand experience. Mobile App based marketing is not only popular in B2C segment, but also in
B2B segment where brands are now enhancing the experience of business users by providing
various utility based apps such as access to secure business content.

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Developing an app that is enriching, engaging, interactive, value adding and personalized holds
the key to grab a piece in todays popular real estate called consumers mobile device for
marketers.
So we have to consider an application which will provide marketers with a new form of brand
building and engagement that is measurable and highly effective marketing via mobile apps.

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Review of Literature
Mobile Advertising 2020 Vision by Ogilvy and Acision
Mobile advertising in 2020 will be mobile directed advertising which is selected and chosen by
the individuals themselves. Individuals and not consumers; consumers remain a group or type of
person which conforms to a pre-defined segment by the brands. Individuals, on the other hand,
are fully independent, they may let you know them or part of them but they will never let a brand
own them.
It is the individual who will be the pivotal player in the mobile advertising domain of the future
and the mobile device will be a technological representation of them. The mobile phone will
transform from being seen as a new personalized channel to receive advertisements on; to a
device which will orchestrate where, when and how selected advertisers information will be
delivered.
Implications for Marketers:

Mobile is going to be a significant media channel

Early adopters will benefit from low cost experimentation and first mover advantage.
Early adopters will benefit from low cost experimentation and first mover advantage.
New forms or collaboration intra-company and across company are both possible and
necessary in the emerging mobile space
The cost of entry is currently low.

India e-Marketing Outlook 2012 by Octane Research

Top 5 industry verticals in India in terms of e-marketing investment are:
Retail & Distribution (include online retail and e-commerce)
Media & Entertainment
IT & ITES
Services and Consulting (including Marketing Agencies)
Education

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Customer Acquisition
It continues to be the primary goal for existing & new marketing initiatives over the last two
years
Social media
Social Media initiatives are gaining momentum and email continues to be the most effective
marketing channel. Social Media (68.8%) and Email marketing (53.1%) emerged as top 2 online
marketing initiatives that will see an increase in marketing investments in 2012.
No Spam
A majority of Indian marketers (36%) wanted a code of conduct by an industry body like
IAMAI, while 31.5% of the participants believe stronger anti-spam laws in like CAN-SPAM
would help curb the spamming campaigns.
Mobile Applications/Games:
This from of mobile marketing involves have your ads inside of a mobile application/game.
Mobile Apps are little software programs you download from an app store connected with your
mobile devices operating platform. Theres the App store from Apple for iPhones, and similar
ones for Droid and Blackberry-based mobile devices. Apps (short for applications) can be
anything from games such as Words with Friends to specialized information and entertainment
experiences like the one from ABC News. Some are free while others have a cost associated with
them.
For businesses, building an application might be a smart way to reach consumers in a compelling
way. Whether its delivering company news, coupons or specials or engaging customers around
your business in some fashion (quizzes, polls, games, etc.), you can be an ever-present icon on a
customers mobile desktop, increasing the chances theyll remember you when theyre ready to
buy.

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INTRODUCTION
Mobile Apps is one of the latest trends using which marketers are trying to promote their brand
presence. This report will begin by outlining the brief overview of the mobile devices market
(smart phones and tablets) and growth success achieved by mobile applications (also called apps)
in these devices. We will discuss various advantages offered to marketers via mobile apps as
compared to traditional media. Further, we will present the example of mobile apps in B2C and
B2B segment deployed for increasing brand awareness and presence. We will also highlight the
best practices towards mobile app based marketing.

Mobile Marketing
Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage
with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network1.
Mobile marketing can be done using various channels such as

Via SMS:
Marketing through cellphones' SMS (Short Message Service) became increasingly
popular in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia when businesses started to
collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted (or unwanted) content. On average,
SMS messages are read within four minutes, making them highly convertible.
Over the past few years SMS marketing has become a legitimate advertising channel in
some parts of the world. This is because unlike email over the public internet, the carriers
who police their own networks have set guidelines and best practices for the mobile
media industry (including mobile advertising).
The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and the Mobile Marketing Association, as
well, have established guidelines and are evangelizing the use of the mobile channel for
marketers. While this has been fruitful in developed regions such as North America,
Western Europe and some other countries, mobile SPAM messages (SMS sent to mobile
subscribers without a legitimate and explicit opt-in by the subscriber) remain an issue in
many other parts or the world, partly due to the carriers selling their member databases to
third parties. In India, however, government's efforts of creating National Do Not Call
Registry have helped cellphone users to stop SMS advertisements by sending a simple
SMS or calling 1909.

Mobile Marketing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_marketing

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Via MMS:
MMS mobile marketing can contain a timed slideshow of images, text, audio and video.
This mobile content is delivered via MMS (Multimedia Message Service). Nearly all new
phones produced with a color screen are capable of sending and receiving standard MMS
message. Brands are able to both send (mobile terminated) and receive (mobile
originated) rich content through MMS A2P (application-to-person) mobile networks to
mobile subscribers. In some networks, brands are also able to sponsor messages that are
sent P2P (person-to-person).
Good examples of mobile-originated MMS marketing campaigns are Motorolas ongoing
campaigns at House of Blues venues, where the brand allows the consumer to send their
mobile photos to the LED board in real-time as well as blog their images online.

Via Mobile Web:

Advertising on web pages specifically meant for access by mobile devices is also an
option. The Mobile Marketing Association provides a set of guidelines and standards that
give the recommended format of ads, presentation, and metrics used in reporting. Google,
Yahoo, and other major mobile content providers have been selling advertising placement
on their properties for years already as of the time of this writing. Advertising networks
focused on mobile properties, SMS resellers and advertisers are also available.
Additionally, web forms on web page can be used to integrate with mobile

To get reminders about meetings, seminars and other important events that assume users
are not always at their computers. In addition Mobile websites are another aspect of
mobile web marketing and can be a tool than can used to help make purchasing goods
and services easier as well as create better communication opportunities between trades.

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Via Mobile Banners

Via Push Notifications:

Push notifications were first introduced to smart phones by Apple with the advent of the
iPhone in 2007. They were later further popularized with the Android operational
system, where the notifications are shown on the top of the screen.
It has helped application owners to communicate directly with their end users in a simple
and effective way. If not used wisely it can quickly alienate users as it causes
interruptions to their current activities on the phone. It can be much cheaper if compared
to SMS marketing for the long run, but it can become quite expensive on the short run,
because the cost involved in application development. Once the application is download
and installed provided the feature is not turned off It is practically free, because it uses
internet bandwidth only. SMS and push notifications can be part of a well-developed
inbound mobile marketing strategy.

Via Mobile Apps:

With the increasingly widespread use of smart phones, app usage has also greatly
increased. Therefore, mobile marketers have increasingly taken advantage of smartphone
apps as a marketing resource. This allows for direct engagement, payment, and targeted
advertising.

In game mobile marketing:

There are essentially four major trends in mobile gaming right now: interactive real-time
3D games, massive multi-player games and social networking games. This means a trend
towards more complex and more sophisticated, richer game play. On the other side, there
are the so-called casual games, i.e. games that are very simple and very easy to play.
Most mobile games today are such casual games and this will probably stay so for quite a
while to come.
Brands are now delivering promotional messages within mobile games or sponsoring
entire games to drive consumer engagement. This is known as mobile advergaming or
Ad-funded mobile game.

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Location Based Marketing:

Location-based services (LBS) are offered by some cell phone networks as a way to send
custom advertising and other information to cell-phone subscribers based on their current
location. The cell-phone service provider gets the location from a GPS chip built into the
phone.

Though some of the above channels have been in use by marketers for some time, the latest
channel of marketing is via Mobile Apps which will be the focus of this report.

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The Smart Phone & Media Tablet Trends: Theoretical Perspective

A. Evolution
Todays consumers want constant access to their content on devices that are small, light, stylish
and as powerful as the relatively enormous personal computers they have at home or in the
office. Smart phones and media tablets are fulfilling the mobile lifestyle need of consumers and
providing constant access to the desired content. 10 years ago, people used to go to their
computer to access the content but now via smart phones/tablets, they carry their content and
computing power with them.
Smart phones and media tablets run a complete operating system on top of which 3rd party
applications can be developed and launched. These operating systems allow access of mobile
platforms based media to several marketers who want to reach their consumers/customers. Some
of the popular mobile OS currently in the market are Apple iOS, Google Android, Blackberry
OS and Windows Phone 72.

Fig 1: Models of latest smart phones and tablets in the mark

2

Mobile Marketing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_marketing

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B. Rapid growth of Mobile Devices and Mobile Apps

Smart phones growth has now outpaced the PC sales and it is forecasted that within US, smart
phones will account for more than 50% of the share of overall mobile phones sales by the end of
20113. Offerings at low and mid level smart phones have made these devices affordable to larger
segment of consumers. Research indicates that the explosive growth of smart phones and media
tablets will continue further boosting the diverse range of mobile applications on these devices.
Figure 2 represents that growth of smart phones and tablets is extraordinarily high as compared
to traditional PC market. People no more see smart phones as luxury but a necessary product of
their life.

Fig 2: Comparison of PC vs Mobile Devices global unit shipment growth from 2005 to 2013

Smartphone Sales Outpace PCs for First Time - http://www.mobiledia.com/news/81680.html

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Growth of smart phones and tablets has created the new market of mobile applications. In 2009,
total numbers of app downloads were 7 billion and it is expected that by end of 2012 the number
of apps download will increase to 50 billion4. Figure 3 shows that global mobile apps download
are showing growth close to 62% CAGR.

Fig 3: Expected CAGR of 62% in Global Mobile Apps download

Source: http://www.androidtapp.com/investors-global-mobile-apps-economy-worth-17-5-billion-by-2012/global-mobile-apps-download/

Mobile apps have evolved to a stage where it provides rich and fast user experience. This
channel is quite engaging for consumers as compared to traditional marketing via SMS. Various
categories of mobile apps are coming and gaining popularity day by day. Consumers are using
these apps for connectivity, entertainment, information access and productivity. Apps are being
used for purposes such as organize day to day financials, create a shopping list, count calories,
and, play games. One survey indicates that on average each iPhone user downloaded 88 apps and
spent 84 minutes per day5.

4
5

Global Mobile Apps Economy Worth $17.5 Billion by 2012 - http://www.androidtapp.com/investors-global-mobile-apps-economy-worth-17-5-billion-by-2012/

108 apps per iPhone - http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/28/108-apps-per-iphone/

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Fig 4: Popular categories of Mobile Apps among consumers

Source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/NielsenMobileAppsWhitepaper.pdf

One of the most popular categories of mobile apps is Games. 65% of smart phone owners
indicated using a game app in the past 30 days.
While all categories of applications are more popular on smart phones than on feature phones,
the difference is more pronounced in categories such as Maps/Navigation, where more
computing power, larger screens and touch interfaces deliver a more satisfying experience.

Hence, indicating that as the computing power of these devices further increase, varying trends
of popular categories of apps may emerge.

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Research Methodology
Objectives:
1. To identify opportunities for advertising through Mobile Marketing Apps.
2. To study profiles of mobile solution providers along with their business categories,
solutions and supported mobile platforms in order to identify mobile marketing
opportunities
3. To establish the hypothesis by identifying opportunities and trends of mobile marketing
Apps.
Formulation of Hypothesis:
Hypothesis is a tentative theory or supposition provisionally adopted to explain certain facts and
guide the investigation of others. It is a tentative and declarative statement formulated to be
tested describing relationship between concepts. Hypothesis is a statement of predicated
outcomes of the research. A hypothesis is proposition which the researcher wants to verify.

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Research Hypothesis:

With new trend of more and more users switching to smart phones across the world, there
is larger audience for marketing on mobile in general.

There is strong mobile application development community which is enabling increased

consumer presence on mobile because of applications such as Facebook, twitter etc.

Mobile Marketing adoption in every industry is quite likely because of the online
presence of most of business and growing buzz of Ecommerce.

Research Design
The research is both exploratory and descriptive in nature.
Scope of Study:
This research would help marketers to explore more of this medium called Mobile.
Strategies to build an effective mobile app.
New ways to promote your brand by giving an engaging experience to customers.
Data: Primary and Secondary
Tool: Questionnaire, MS Excel, MS Word, BB App world and websites.
Research Limitation

Research and analysis were based only on the secondary data available from the internet
so any error in the data gathering by the original source may generate inaccurate results.

Research period is 6 weeks only.

Research is conducted by considering the urban India as the presence of smart phones is
high in urban India as compared to rural India.

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Findings:

Smartphone User
90
80
70
60
50
Smartphone User

40
30
20
10
0
Yes

No

The above graph shows that mostly people own a smartphone hence more exposed to Apps.

This graph shows that more than 80% of the sample surveyed has once in a lifetime visited Apps.

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Frequency Visit To Apps

60
50
40
30

Frequency visit to Apps

20
10
0
Everyday

Weekly

Monthly

Never

Mostly people visit and seethe apps coming in their mobile phones.

The above graph shows that games indulge more customers followed by banking and restaurant
services.

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Advantages of Mobile Apps for Marketing

Mass markets have fragmented, and therefore impersonal mass communication, especially media
advertising, has become less effective whereas targeted one-to-one marketing communications
have become more important. The proliferation of mobile apps has lead to make mobile phones a
critical channel for brands to reach their mobile customers and engage in one to one
communication model of Marketing 2.0. In this section, we will discuss various advantages
offered by Mobile Apps over traditional media.

A. AnyTime, Anywhere Brand Presence and Access

The business model is no longer about sticky websites, but ubiquitous brands available to
constantly connected consumers looking to access specific information as quickly as possible .
The highly portable nature of the mobile phone has changed the way people communicate. It
makes customers and businesses available to each other anytime, anywhere and transactions can
be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This provides a tremendous opportunity for
businesses to reach out to customers at convenient moments of consumers. Anytime, anywhere
access to brand helps consumers to access the information communicated by the brand.
Such advantage is harness significantly by various news and
magazine corporations where they have started providing digital
edition of their content via apps on Smart phones and Tablets.
In one of the surveys by Time Inc., a Time Warner company found
that 21% of the time their app is used by the audience before going
to the bed. They believe that it helps creating a positive relationship
with a brand as this is a relaxing time for the users and hence
provides a rare opportunity to seek one to one communication6.
Mobile Apps boost brand salience in the mind of the audience, by
land-grabbing mobile devices screen real estate keeping the brand
in front of mind for the audience.

Fig 5: Snapshot of Time

Inc.

mobile

Android

How To: Advertising On An Intimate Device - http://blogs.forbes.com/marketshare/2011/06/06/how-to-advertising-on-an-intimate-device/

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App

on

B. Location Awareness
Location-based marketing allows brands to adapt their marketing messages based on where
consumers are geographically, when they see them, and also what are their habits in that
location. Whole gamut of consumer behaviour can be analyzed based on the location where they
are in. Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) stats reveal that 63% of iPhone owners use
location services at least once a week7.
Businesses such as retailers are using location awareness features
to provide information of their nearby stores, its working hours and
special promotional deals. Coffee shops such as Tim Hortons has
launched a mobile app called TimmyMe that helps consumer to
get list of 10 nearest location as well as the menu list of various
offerings.
Adding location as a dimension can increase the relevancy to the
consumer and provide a more meaningful response to the retailer,
making it a win for all parties. Such relevancy ultimately helps
meeting the need of the consumer and hence overall positive brand
experience. According to research from ShopAlerts programs, 55%
to 79% of consumers find location-based alerts from retailers
appealing, and 11% to 34% percent report making a purchase, Fig 6: Timmy Me App
depending on the brand and the offer.
indicating location of
Tim Hortons as well as
promoting

Iced

coffee

The Future of Mobile Advertising - Location, Location, Location - http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1717381/the-future-mobile-advertising-location-location-location

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Capp

C. Brand Building
Branding is all about creating mental map associations in the mind of audience. Apps can act as a
great medium to increase or emphasize such mental map associations. Gaming apps are such
brand building blocks as it associates the brand with fun. For example, PepsiCo launched an app
called Pepsi Loot, which allows users to get free music (called loot) with check-ins made at
Pepsi locations. The intention was to make association of the soda brand with great music. Pepsi
promoted their locations as pop spots to increase its association with music.

Fig 7: Snapshots of Pepsi Loot app from iPhone

D. Instant Communication and Customer Service

One of the trend seen in todays Consumer Behavior is I instant message with my friends,
let me instant message with your brand.
Consumers seek more than mass marketing. They have become accustomed to being recognized,
respected and communicated on a one to one basis. To cater such needs, mobile apps provide a
medium to instantly connect and communicate with the brand via features such as instant
messaging or touch to call. On the go customers will appreciate the customer service access
available via mobile device. It helps brands also to seek real time feedback for the various
offerings made. Based on real time feedback and communication with consumers, marketers can
adjust their campaigns to create overall positive impact of the brands.
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As an example, SwimOutlet.com has launched a

mobile app that not only enables shoppers to search,
browse and buy from their smart phones but also allows
them to connect with a customer service representative
for a live chat. Customer service on mobile device is a
latest offering and its a feature that could help
converting busy mobile shoppers into buyers by
offering quick answers to their questions.

Fig 8: SwimOutlet App showing the

provision

of

Live

Chat

with

customer service

E. Targeted and Personalized Segment

A smart phone or a tablet is a personal device and usually does not involve sharing as may be the
case with laptops and PCs. It is the most immediate, intimate and interactive media to reach
consumers and hence provides a unique opportunity towards identifying engagement with the
brand. Consumers tend to flaunt off the apps they possess and use on the day to day basis. A
brand can get easily word of mouth recommendation from one consumer to other consumer if it
is successful in managing its presence in consumers mobile device.
Due to Mobile Apps Opt-In requirements, messages are more likely to be read as compared to
other media where the message may be ignored by the target audience. Unique identity attached
to mobile devices such as mobile number, blackberry Id, email Id helps marketers to improve the
Customer Relationship management (CRM).
Traditional online media relied on inappropriate techniques and faced challenges such as:

Anonymous and fake internet identities of users communicating with marketers.

Several times, the PC is shared by many users and hence a specific PC identity cannot be
tied to single user.

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By having unique and secure identity of mobile device users, marketers now have the ability to
reference prior interaction history, improve personalization and meet customers conversation
expectations.
F. Shopping with Mobile Commerce
Mobile commerce (also called m-commerce) is showing exponential growth. Consumers use
their mobile device for shopping on-the-go and making more-frequent mobile payments. Mobile
commerce offers useful opportunities to businesses to enhance the consumers shopping
experience. It is particularly useful for busy shoppers. As consumers are constantly accessing
content from mobile device, m-commerce provides the opportunity to convert users desire to
purchase a product instantaneously via mobile device.
eBays launch of Fashion App is an example towards integrating convenient and bargain
shopping via m-commerce. The app allows users to browse for clothes, have access to exclusive
sales, and try on an outfit by snapping a picture with the phones' camera. It then lets you share
your outfits with friends on Facebook and Twitter. All of the features add to the shopping
experience, but most importantly, consumers are able to buy what they like through the mobile
device itself.

Fig 9: eBay Fashion App integrated with m-commerce

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Benefits for Business Apps:

Build relationships

Build loyalty

Reinforce your brand

Increase your visibility

Increase your accessibility

Solve the problem of getting stuck in spam folders

Increase exposure across mobile devices

Connect you with on-the-go consumers

Generate repeat business

Give you tools that are driving the "New App Economy"
Enhance your social networking strategies

Benefits for Customers They'll receive:

Notifications of special events, launches, and more

One-touch access to your contact information

Fast, seamless appointment scheduling

Automatic recording of their next appointment

Automatic reminder of their next servicing date

A record of their mileage and most recent servicing

Free one-on-one Chat

Extras: parking markers, loan calculators, and local gas prices

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The benefits of an app vs. a mobile website:

A recent survey conducted by Compuware has shown that 85% of consumers favour apps over
mobile websites due to convenience, speed and ease of use. However, when it comes to deciding
which is better for your business, its important to make sure that you to weigh up the pros and
cons based on your specific requirements.
The main benefit of developing a mobile app versus a mobile friendly website is that by
developing a mobile app in native code, you can embrace the native functionality or the
hardware of the phone. For example, most smartphones have built in accelerometers, cameras,
GPS and gyroscopes.
Secondly, while a mobile friendly website will always require an internet connection with an
app, this is not always the case. Many apps can store data locally on the phone, and you can
continue interacting with them even when no connections are available.
The Daily Mail app is a good example, whereby when the user opens the app, it will look to
connect to the internet to download all of the updated stories, all related images for use offline
and will notify the user when this is complete. They then effectively have today's newspaper
downloaded onto their phone. It is this content that will remain on the app until it is next 'synced'
to the internet.
Its becoming increasingly easy to develop mobile apps too because the major operating systems
offer developers free frameworks and development tools to get started with app development.
However, there are also certain cases when building a mobile website may be a better solution.
Another important element to consider as part of your mobile strategy, once you have decided on
an app, mobile website, or potentially both, is that you will need a firm plan in place of how you
intend to effectively drive traffic to your mobile website or app. This is particularly important if
you intend to utilize the mobile channel to open up new revenue streams or to enhance your
brand loyalty initiatives.

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Mobile apps and mobile websites have their similarities and differences; companies looking to
take advantage of the mobile boom need to consider how each solution will help them reach their
business goals. Preparing before you take your business mobile will help ensure the route you
take will be the right one.

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Successful Branding Stories

Mobile advertising is growing, and apps have become a favored avenue through which marketers
can unite brands with consumers. Marketers know that savvy consumers want something in
return for their time and attention, which is why strategically developed apps can prove quite
successful in promoting brand awareness. In this section, we will present example of the
branding effort lead in B2C and B2B segments.

A. B2C Branding Case: Audi A4 Driving Challenge

Entertainment based features of mobile apps are very popular among consumers. Several
branded applications are evolving the association of their brand with fun.
Audi released a mobile app based game which lets users take one of their brand new models out
for a virtual test spin. Instead of having to go into the dealership to take a car out for a drive,
thereby complicating peoples lives and making appointments, Audi felt that their iPhone app
would be good to promote two things:

People virtually experience driving their A4 sedan, and

Have fun

In this instance, Audis mobile app is not wholly centered around a campaign designed to sell
cars in the short-term. Instead, it focused on marrying entertainment with the brand name. This
app has received more than 3.5 million downloads. Audi claimed its "A4 Driving Challenge
game had resulted in half a million referrals to the A4's iPhone website -- more than the number
of visitors who weren't referred by the game8.
Banner advertisement and TV commercials based promotion can run only for a limited time and
hence provides finite advertisement opportunities. But, with mobile apps engaging experience,
Audi was able to provide a long term strategy towards promoting their various car models and
created

10

vast

scope

of

non

time

limiting

interaction

Brand iPhone apps: benchmarks for success - http://geoffnorthcott.com/blog/2010/02/brand-iphone-apps-benchmarks-for-success/

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with

the

consumers.

Fig 10: various Snapshots of Audi A4 Challenge Mobile App Game

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B. B2B Branding Case: Hoovers Near Here

With the proliferation of smart phones in the workforce becoming widespread, a few innovative
B2B companies are leading the way in embracing mobile to connect with customers in a new,
deeper way and to accelerate their speed-to-market.
Hoover's, the online business database, introduced its Near Here mobile app for the iPhone and
iPad last year. The app uses GPS technology to enable salespeople to find potential sales targets
in a specified geographic area. This app is harnessing mobile to increase its audiences
productivity. Hoovers has enhanced opportunities for its customer while making their core value
proposition supporting sales professionals in their prospecting efforts more relevant than
ever in this mobile world. The app appears to be working, both for Hoover's and its customers.
One success story of this app indicates that a salesperson took advantage of a four-hour delay at
an airport to use the Near Here app. He used that application, identified another opportunity and
closed a $30,000 deal before he got on that delayed flight.

Fig 11: Various snapshots of Hoovers Near Here App that helps building leads for sales
professional

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Industries having effective Mobile Apps:

Games:
Temple Run: Brave, Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja, Teen Patti, Hill Climb Racing, Angry Birds,
Speed Moto etc
Books and References:
Dictionary.com, Moon Phase Pro, NIV Bible, Constitution of India, Legal Heat, Google Play
Books, Hindu Calendar, iQuran ,Chambers Thesaurus etc
Business:
OfficeeSuite, PrinterShare, CamCard, Outlook Web Mobile, File Manager, Smart Office, Phone
Number Locator, Naukari.com job search, MagicBricks Property, Dish Tv, Quick Pdf Scanner,
e-CANARA e- Infobook, IndiaMART-B2B Marketing, My Recharge, Vehicle Search, Call
Center Pro, FaxFile Pro, e-Tender Indai etc
Comic:
Cyanide & Happiness, ComicRack, Memedroid Pro, ComicCat, Taking Cat, Tattoos 4 Men,
Photo Comics, Comic Books Collection, Fun Face Changer, Akbar-Birbal Tales etc
Communication:
WhatsApp Messenger, Facebook, Truecaller, Skype, Viber, WeChat,Opera Mini Browser,
Mobile AntiVirus Security, FolderSync, Tablet Talk, WiFi Tether Router, CallRecorder, Yahoo
Mail, BBM, Telegram etc
Education:
Reading Trainer, EveryCircuit, C4droid-C/C++, General Knowledge, Photoshop 4U, Speak
English, Meritnation, NCERT Books etc
Entertainment:
My Name Live Wallpaper, Live TV Online, Voice Changer, BookMyShow, Comedy Nights
With Kapil, Spuul-Indian Movies, Sony LIV etc
Finance:
My Budget Book, StarMoney, Banking 4A, Office Calculator, Money Manager, State Bank
Freedom, ICICI Mobile Banking, Moneycontrol Market, LIC Mobile, NSE Mobile Trding,
Currency Converter, ING Vysya Mobile etc.

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Health and Fitness:

My Tracks, Water Your Body, Cardiograph, Acc Blood Pressure, Ayurvedic Upchar, Anti
Mosquito-Sonic Rays, Period Calender/Traker, RunKeeper etc
News and Magazine:
reddit sync, Instapaper, NewsHunt-India News, The Times of India, AajTak, NDTV, The Hindu,
BBC News, Pocket, All India Radio News, The Economic Times, India Today, Alive Studio etc
Travel & Local:
Indian Rail Train & IRCTC, m-Indicator-Mubmai, ixigo Indian rail train, Maps, GPS MAP,
MakeMyTrip ,Zomato, Goibibo etc
Shopping:
OLX Free Classifields, Quikr, Free Classifields, Mobile, DTH Recharge, Flipkart, Myntra Shop,
eBay, Barcode Scanner, MySmartPrice, ShopClues etc
Weather:
WeatherPro, Eye In Sky, Windfinder Pro, Local Weather, Moon Light GO, Is it Cold, Is it Hot,
Thermometer, Sunrise Sunset etc
Sports:
Ski Tracks, Soccer, ICC T20 2014, The ESPNcricinfo, Yahoo Cricket etc

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Effective Mobile App Marketing Strategy

There are over 1.5 Million apps in the market and it is easy for consumers to ignore lot of apps. It
is important for brands to come up with right strategy to ensure that consumers pick up their app
and use it on a constant basis.
When designing mobile apps, brands have to ensure that clients will experience its value on all
levels and are able to relate it to the universal brand experience across other channels. This
basically means giving them a coherent experience and ensuring that their contact with the brand
is enriching and enjoyable. Following aspect should be considered by the marketers while
marketing via apps:

NON INTRUSIVE AND AUTHORIZED EXPERIENCE: The mobile app initiative

should not be viewed as intrusive by consumers. It is designed in such a way that the user
is reassured of the privacy of their personal information and their control over its use. The
clients authorization is obtained before bombarding them with marketing content, in
other words that they are opt-in to use the service. Access to the mobile service retains an
element of exclusivity and control whether in terms of timing or location.
TARGETED CONTENT & PERSONLIZATION: The relevant content is provided to
the right people, in other words tailoring the message to appeal to the recipients. The
developed mobile app should enable customization and personalization on some level
whether through product suggestions or matching client preferences or enabling them to
customize the appearance of their pages within the application.
SHARING & CONVERSATION: The application should allow users to share the
content with others or to transfer it to other devices like computers or web pages or social
networks. Enabling two way conversations in app allows the brand to gather feedback.
PART OF INTEGRATED MARKETING & LONG TERM STRATEGY: The
application should be a part of an integrated marketing program that is linked to other
channels which users may also access. Mobile app should be kept consistent with the
brand positioning and image.

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ENGAGING EXPERIENCE: The mobile initiative should be interactive, engaging and

visually stimulating. If it is boring, people will be quick in deleting the app from their
device. It is also useful for brands to continue providing updates to their apps on regular
basis
that
maintains
the
interest
level
of
the
consumers.
MEASURE POPULARITY OF APPS: In this phase, marketers should constantly
monitor the KPIs of the Mobile Apps in terms of downloads, feedback. It is important to
adjust the mobile campaign based on measured KPIs and constantly looking for
improvements.

Adhish Kulkarni: With 40% of Facebooks revenue coming from mobile, the social channel has
fused with mobile. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/REUTERS

Understanding what customers value has been made easier by the tracking that is available
through apps and mobile sites. It's now possible to predict not only how likely a customer is to
respond positively to a particular mobile campaign, but also the reward or benefit that will most
excite them.
Deciding what customer data is most useful for accurate prediction will depend on the brand and
target market. Advanced analysis can prove remarkably accurate and it doesn't have to be as
complex as you might think.

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For example, BMW ran a mobile campaign for snow tyres, targeting all customers who
purchased a vehicle in the summer with a timely reminder message in October, when the snow
started falling. By personalizing the message with the recommended tyre for the individual
customer's car and an option to call, or get a call back from their closest dealer, BMW was able
to significantly increase effectiveness, and capitalize on the unique functionality of mobile.
Once you've got data you can use, the next element of an effective mobile relationship strategy is
the ability to execute it in as close to real time as possible. This is a very different skillset, and
requires a technology platform that can respond immediately to key customer behaviour, and
trigger an offer or message relevant not only to the customer, but to the moment.
A "closed-loop" approach to mobile data will also continually enrich your database, by recording
how individual customers respond to particular campaigns, learning from those responses and
applying it to future targeting strategies.
If brands want to build a mobile relationship, they must build trust though messages that
increasingly focus on customer preferences and individual moments such as birthdays and
membership anniversaries. The only alternative to not having a mobile relationship strategy is to
spend more money, acquiring more new customers to replace the ones that have left.
With any investment, marketing professionals must demonstrate return. Only a mobile
relationship strategy can turn a one-time advertising investment into a long-term conversation
that gets you closer to your customers.

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Five Brief Methods to make an effective strategy:

Give it a Purpose. One of the worse things a brand can do in its mobile marketing strategy is
devise some app or campaign that fails to deliver any purpose or address a consumer need.
When creating your plan, make sure it has a point. For instance, Walmart and P&G
effectively launched a joint mobile marketing effort that allowed customers to scan products
and have them delivered. Essentially, their 'PGMobile Trucks' provided people with a more
convenient
way
to
buy
products
while
on
the
go.
Reward Your Customer. By offering an incentive for using a mobile application or viewing
a promotion on a mobile device, a brand can better engage consumers. For example,
Starbucks hit a home run with its mobile payments and rewards plan: not only does its
mobile strategy include creating awareness of special promotions to get more people in its
stores, but its rewards program also gives customers a reason to keep coming back.
Simplify As Much As Possible. Because consumers are not stationary when they use their
mobile devices to launch an app or view a promotion, the brand must take care to create a
campaign that is as easy to understand and/or use as possible. The mobile web is not the
same as the normal web when it comes to usability; therefore, care must be taken to ensure
that a message and campaign comes across clearly and is also simple to navigate.
Leverage Location. Since the customer is always moving, applying a GPS-based marketing
campaign allows your brand to take advantage of a person's physical location. Examples of
brands that have effectively used location-based mobile strategies include The Gap, which
offered users free jeans for checking in, and Visa, which uses location-based tracking to
provide
users
with
special
discounts
at
participating
retailers.
Make it Powerful. The overall marketing message must be relevant to the user and have
enough impact so that consumers will pay attention. One way is to relate the mobile
marketing campaign to a social cause. For example, the Kid Rescue App created by
Telefnica Telecom is aimed at decreasing the number of child laborers in Columbia.
Another method is to simply create a message that is hard to ignore -- a great example is
Volkswagen's gigantic QR code that was made from crates of lemons

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Conclusion & Recommendation

The rise of marketing via mobile apps is very exciting and will provide marketers with a new
form of brand building and engagement that is measurable and highly effective. It is important
that a mobile online presence be established as consumers move away from conventional web
access through computers toward the growing trend of accessing the web via smart phones and
tablets. Apart from mobile web based presence, brands need to come up with applications that
are integrated with the overall marketing campaign and provide a value adding as well as
engaging experience to the consumers. It is recommended that marketers should consider
following key aspects for app based marketing
1. Not all strategies work for all players : It is important for the marketers to understand the
behaviors of their mobile users. Understanding your audience helps in creating the right
segment of the app.
2. Determine the measurable objectives: What are we trying to achieve via the developed
apps? Are we interested in brand building or enhance customer experience? Do we want to
observe consumer behavior and what are the benchmarks? Are we interested in making
revenue or non-revenue generating app? Marketers should be clear in their objectives so that
feedback can be tracked properly.
3. Keep apps engaging and relevant: Keep your communication via these apps simple,
understandable, appealing and relevant. The App should help meeting the set objectives and
follow a long term plan in terms of upgrades.

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References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_marketing
http://www.phonesale.com/blog/smartphone-sales-outpace-pc-sales-for-first-time/
http://www.androidtapp.com/investors-global-mobile-apps-economy-worth-17-5-billion-by2012/
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/28/108-apps-per-iphone/
http://blogs.forbes.com/marketshare/2011/06/06/how-to-advertising-on-an-intimate-device/
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1717381/the-future-mobile-advertising-location-locationlocation
http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/7645-ten-ways-brands-can-use-location-based-marketing
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/9540.html
http://geoffnorthcott.com/blog/2010/02/brand-iphone-apps-benchmarks-for-success/

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