Brand Managers—Ignore Mobile At Your Own Risk

As a brand manager, mobile technologies are rapidly evolving & presenting you with new opportunities to engage your high value markets. It’s difficult to make the right decisions in an industry that changes so rapidly, and we’re constantly challenged to understand exactly what customers want. Being a former account manager & graphic designer and graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC marketing program, I’ve become particularly interested in mobile trends and technologies and have found two articles that would be of interest to any brand manager.

A mobile-first proponent and President of Vertical Measures, Arnie Kuenn, swiftly reminds us that 2014 means we need to "get with the social times." His article in Marketing Land highlights the steady growth in mobile traffic over the last 5 years, and declares brands need to ensure their content and digital designs are mobile ready. Unfortunately, as Kuenn points out, if users cannot easily navigate your site on mobile, they are likely to leave the platform. If you’re still making progress on this transition, there are a few options you can consider to integrate mobile into your strategy, including a dedicated mobile site, a responsive design, or a mobile app; together with these design options it’s equally as important to optimize your content, including text design (e.g., line space, font size, etc.) and consider the properties and characteristics that are most simple and engaging users.  

Art Rivera, templates.com/blog/mobile-website-design-infographic

On the other hand, Google Display Ad Chief, Neal Mohan, claims that mobile-first is already dead. The article agrees that mobile-first thinking was really important, but it’s no longer good enough for developers, designers, marketers, and most of all, consumers. Regardless of the growing trend in mobile use, consumers are not solely using mobile devices—the reality is they’re constantly jumping back and forth between multiple devices and platforms. How many times do you start a task on one device and finish on another? According to the article, 90% of consumers are increasingly comfortable with this habit, and unfortunately neither design nor messaging have adapted.  As the trend moves away from mobile-first, perhaps marketers are going to start thinking “reach-first.” We need to start thinking about how to work on multiple devices simultaneous, yet remember that the technology is totally irrelevant if the message doesn’t resonate with the consumer.

Kelly Hodgkins, http://www.tuaw.com/

After reading these 2 articles, I believe brand managers must consider these 3 items before re-structuring your agency’s strategy and re-defining all of your branding methods based on a current trend.

1. Think Multi-Device — Format not just for the device, but for the simultaneous use of multiple devices. We need to create a consistent message across all devices, and develop a platform that allows users to seamlessly transition across their activity. In some ways we need to take a lesson from Google Drive, and figure out how we can save information that's recognized across devices in a way that is simple and engaging.  
2. Design to Expectations — Designing for trends is risky, because the only thing constant about trends is that they constantly change — if we put all this time, money and energy into mobile, what happens when the “next big thing” is here? Instead of running full speed in a single direction, step back and think about what actually motivates the customer and what needs are being satisfied. If we can capture that knowledge, we can truly design for the customer instead of the industry. 
3. Content is King — Creating the most innovative technology could mean nothing if the message does not resonate with the consumer. People today are short on time and attention; content should be "bite-sized" and ultimately reflect your brand beyond the product. You can facilitate a strong, engaging community by creating conversations built on a shared passion.

Today, you cannot succeed if you ignore mobile, but more importantly you need to think beyond current trends and be prepared to adapt based on consumer motivations and needs.

Jesse is a marketing professional based in Chicago. Originally from central Pennsylvania, she attended Elon University where she majored in Media Arts. She’s currently an M.S. candidate in Northwestern University’s Medill IMC program. Jesse is passionate about creating content that sparks dialogue between company and consumer, and she has special interests in television commercial production, social media, and mobile marketing. 

Follow her on twitter @jessetunger

Strategists, and Creative Directors Take Note: This Is How Your Organizations Can Have Nice Things

Strategists and creative directors spend exorbitant amounts of time developing intricately planned strategies meant to communicate with a specific market, however, according to Roger L. Martin, thorough planning does not equal an effective marketing strategy. Throughout my time in Northwestern University's Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program, equal emphasis has been placed on both quantitative and qualitative tactics for specifying target markets, and how to assess the myriad approaches available to effectively communicate a brand’s message to said market.

In his article The Big Lie of Strategic Planning, Roger L. Martin discusses three common mistakes or “traps”, as he refers to them, that organizations fall victim to when developing a marketing strategy. “First is Strategic Planning, second is Cost-Based Thinking, the third is Self-Referential Strategy Frameworks” (Martin, The Big Lie of Strategic Planning). Inherent to these three “traps” is a failure to break from one’s comfort zone, and approaching the strategic thought process through the lens of a budget planning committee. Instead of developing dynamic strategic approaches to communicate with target markets, they develop templates based on past successes that involve little to no risk. Martin prescribes three ways to avoid the “traps.” First “keep the strategy simple, second recognize that strategy is not about perfection, and third make the logic explicit” (The Big Lie of Strategic Planning). Martin believes these three suggestions are important steps to developing effective strategies, and making bold moves in a competitive marketplace.

Image Source: Richard Sheffield

One of the boldest, and often most criticized mobile strategies is that of Facebook. Josh Constine outlines the mobile strategy Facebook has adopted for remaining relevant among competitors who’s apps focus on a specific social functionality that users seem to prefer to Facebook’s original all-in-one mobile approach. In an earnings call with CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Constine points out that it was clear Zuckerberg was aware of the growing number of competitors chipping away at Facebook’s dominance on the mobile platform. In fact, Zuckerberg is actually following Facebook’s philosophy of “move fast and break things,” saying “One theme that should be clear from our work on products like Messenger, Groups and Instagram is that our vision for Facebook is to create a set of products that help you share any kind of content you want with any audience you want” (Facebook’s Plot To Conquer Mobile: Shatter Itself Into Pieces). Constine quotes Zuckerberg again later in his article when Zuckerberg refers to features within the main Facebook app as “second-class” and specifically states the need for Facebook to deliver “a suite of apps focused on executing specific functions that consumers need.” References are made to Facebook’s successes and failures in delivering these focused consumer experiences with the release of the Messenger app, the acquisitions of Instagram and Whatsapp, and the releases of the Poke, Camera, and Paper apps. It remains to be seen how effective this strategy will be but it is clear that Facebook is ready to “break things” in a bold effort to remain relevant.

In reading the articles mentioned above I began to consider how they would fit in a real-world scenario. Realizing there is no "breaking things" without building trust and support in your reasoning I thought of three action items anyone can apply at the office.

1. Define Key Stakeholders - At the outset of the strategic thought process there will always be a number of variables to consider. One variable that can easily get out of hand is the approval process. Be sure to define relevant individuals who will be affected by the strategy being developed and get them onboard immediately in order to gain their trust and ambassadorship. Establish that they will be the liaison between their respective departments and yourself in order to streamline the approval process.
   
2. Establish Pragmatic Parameters - As stated earlier in Roger L. Martin’s article, the end result of a strategy should never resemble a budget plan. However, you do need to have pragmatic and quantifiable financial parameters in place before allowing yourself the freedom to break things. Get the CFO, or their direct report, onboard from the get go to assist in researching target markets and solidifying your reasoning for pursuing the high value target market. This will help you develop a 360-degree view of your target market and allow for creative strategic thinking within well-defined parameters.
   
3. Let Your Organization Have Nice Things - Now to "break things," after establishing relationships and building trust rooted in quantifiable reasoning it is time to break from the tried-and-true and reinvigorate your brand’s message in order to empower you highest value consumers. Allow for brainstorming the rejects no ideas at the outset and pair down the results. Then refine, refine, refine until you have something spectacular.

While it is true that many companies are quite successful at retaining consumers through tried-and-true tactics, every once in a while a break in communications pattern is necessary in order to reinvigorate an existing consumer-base or expand to a new consumer-base. Strategizing, not planning, and having the courage to break from the familiar can produce great results for your organization.

Raul Torres is a freelance graphic designer and strategic thinker who has worked with non-profits, start-ups, and agencies around Chicago. He is a Master of Science candidate in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. You can follow him on twitter at @tar050.

CMO’s, Mobile Strategy is Now Essential for Consumer Engagement and Brand Loyalty

By Jennifer Tan

With the explosion of mobile technology and social sharing, Consumer Packaged Goods brands can no longer justify sticking to traditional marketing channels with the reasoning that “selling to customers via third-party retailers means a lower need for direct consumer interaction”. More CPG industry leaders are moving into the mobile sphere, and it is important for CMO’s of CPG brands to keep up with the mobile evolution. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC program, I have been studying successful brand engagement strategies via mobile platforms, and two recent articles do a good job of highlighting key points a CMO needs to know for leveraging the mobile platform to better engage consumers. 

                                               The Shopkick app. Source: MobileMarketer.com

While Consumer Packaged Goods brands have started experimenting with the mobile sphere, many are faced with the challenge of directly reaching consumers who are used to engaging with retailers via the mobile platform, not CPG brands. CPG brands piggyback on third-party apps for mobile boost offers a common solution used by CPG brands to tackle this challenge, by first partnering with third-party apps, which work with multiple brands to provide product and promotion information and are more likely to be downloaded by masses of potential consumers. While brands like Clorox have rolled out brand-specific apps designed to engage particular segments (in this case, female viewers of The Bachelorette via a mobile check-in platform), the key to any mobile strategy is to provide relevant content that allow brands to “continue the conversation started on air or in print in a meaningful way with their target audience, up to and including driving a specific, desired action”. 

Similarly, in 7 ways CPG brands can leverage location-based marketing, the potential of mobile platforms for CPG brands without physical retail stores is discussed from the perspective of targeting potential customers on the go. By utilizing location-based marketing to drive traffic to authorized retail stores, mobile networks to serve geo-targeted ads, or location-based lifestyle and shopping apps, CPG brands can offer exclusive content to geographically relevant shoppers, thereby creating value for customers. Furthermore, location-based data gives CPG brands valuable insight as to where and when their customers shop, as well as the products on their shopping list and being scanned real-time--serving as a viable source of sustainable, targetable customer database.

Based on my review of these two articles and various examples of mobile strategies for CPG brands, there are three actionable items that CMO’s of CPG brands can implement in their mobile brand strategy:

1. Identify target consumer and relevant app type — If the goal is to reach a broader spectrum of potential consumers and increase top-of-mind purchase saliency, then partnering with 3^rd party apps that already have a steady client base will be most effective.  If the goal is to increase consumer loyalty from a particular segment, then developing a brand-exclusive app with value-added or utilitarian service to the target segment will effectively attract the targeted users.

2. Tailor mobile content to customer interest and medium — For a specific demographic segment and brand-exclusive apps, tips on identified lifestyle activities will provide the most value to promote engagement (such as BandAid’s animation app helping children forget about their “booboos”, or interest-based functions like Clorox did with The Bachelorette check-in). For a broad spectrum of audience on third-party apps, information on product and promotional deals will provide useful product information that increases the product’s relevancy.

3. Use location marketing to close the gap between brand engagement and product purchase — By targeting customers within physical proximity, mobile apps can serve exclusive information on product features, promotional events or product launches to prompt “likely shoppers” toward purchase. CPG brands should utilize the data collected from location targeting to better understand the location, shopping intent, and type of product their customers are looking for, in order to provide constant customization and product updates.

As digital and social media have become part of daily life, consumers’ opinions and ideas about brands and products are constantly being influenced and reinforced. In order to stay competitive, CPG brands need to tap into the mobile sphere to increase customer engagement and reinforce purchase intent. By monitoring real-time how consumers are searching and shopping for relevant products and serving location-optimized, relevant product and promotional information, CPG brands can target the most relevant consumers on the spot and tip the scale in their favor when consumers are faced with a sea of competitive products.

About:
Jennifer Tan is pursuing a Masters degree in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) at Northwestern University, with a focus on brand strategy and interactive/digital marketing. Prior to the program, she has worked in marketing and communications in the cloud computing and litigation technology industry. She has a passion for discovering insights from qualitative and quantitative data, and hopes to utilize her skill set in a job in Strategic Planning after graduating in September 2014. She would love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation via Twitter at @jenntani or via LinkedIn.

Sources:
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/strategy/16162.htmlhttp://streetfightmag.com/2013/07/31/7-ways-cpg-brands-can-leverage-location-based-marketing/?doing_wp_cron=1381527151.3662719726562500000000http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/16040.htmlhttp://www.prdaily.com/awards/SpecialEdition/143.aspx

Image Source:
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/strategy/16162.html