The popularity of smartphones has been shown to be on the rise since the introduction of the iPhone all the way back in 2007 – this evolution from its predecessors allowed consumers to play around with a plethora of additional features, such as streamlined web browsing, a touchscreen for easier control and even app stores to provide users with even more options to entertain themselves. The r efinement of these features has led to smartphones becoming a staple product in many people’s lives – research carried out by Statista shows that in 2015 there were around 1.86 billion smartphone users worldwide.
The rapid growth in the smartphone market meant businesses had to adapt their practices if they wanted to have an edge over their competitors. Nowadays, there are many different types of mobile ads, such as banner and native ads. Smartphone web browsing has also meant that businesses have to code their websites in such a way that the browsing experience will be enjoyable on both the PC and the smartphone. However, this doesn’t mean that older forms of mobile advertising are irrelevant – SMS ads are still prevalent.
An example of a banner ad
An example of a native ad
In considering what forms of mobile advertising to use, businesses have to consider the many advantages and disadvantages of their methods.
One of the biggest advantages of mobile advertising is the fact that there is a very high likelihood that consumers will actually read or view the ad itself. Ads sent in the form of SMS are more likely to be read on the simple basis that they come in the form a direct message to the consumer. The interface of smartphones also allows for easy access to SMS, in comparison to e-mail. Whilst an e-mail may just gather dust in someone’s inbox, a text message is often immediately opened and read. Some mobile platforms also don’t show the name of the sender, meaning the user often doesn’t know who sent them the message until they open it. The effectiveness of SMS is further supported by the fact that they have an open rate of 98%, in comparison to the 22% of e-mails. However, SMS advertisements also run the risk of being seen as spam messages and can negatively affect the business’ reputation. As such, a certain level of care should be taken when using this form of advertising – too many SMS ads sent can eventually irritate users, and to this end consent is one factor business’ must consider. Consent has been shown to be important in decreasing the level of customer irritation (Selda Ene, 2015), meaning it is especially important that businesses only send SMS ads to users who have expressed interest, as well as having an opt-out option to provide them with an easy way to stop the messages before their irritation turns into annoyance at their brand as a whole.
An example of SMS advertising
Mobile advertising can also make effective use of the data it collects. In conjunction with social media platforms such as Facebook or Youtube, they can essentially customise their ads to each user. This ensures that users will at least have some level of interest in the ads they are shown, increasing the likelihood of a click. Mobile platforms also offer an additional advantage in that due to mobile data, business have access to a user’s location and can hence further tailor their ads for the users. For example, users in London would see banner and native ads for services provided in London while people in Brighton would see services found in Brighton.
It has also been found in a study that the public perception of mobile perception is in fact fairly neutral, rather than negative (Tri Dinh Le, 2014). Although users did not have any particularly positive emotions when encountering ads, it was widely agreed that these ads helped them to collect information on products they were interested in. Another interesting finding was that the factors of Credibility and Entertainment held more weight on their attitude than Informativeness and Irritation. The significant of Credibility suggests that businesses should look towards being honest in their ads rather than exaggerating their claims – many users simply did not believe them and ignored them if they did. The factor of entertainment also suggests that something that is eye-catching or interesting is simply more effective in mobile advertising, rather than bombarding the user with information.
In essence, it is clear that mobile advertising plays a large role and likely will continue to in a business’ success. However, these businesses should also be careful in their methods – they should take care not be too intrusive, and in order to maximise the effectiveness of their advertising they should focus specifically on and take advantage of the unique aspects of a mobile platform – the fact that it is highly personalised and likely always going to be on with their user.
References
Ene, S and Özkaya, B, 2015. The Role of Mobile Advertising on Consumers’ Purchase Decisions: A Research on Consumer Attitudes towards Mobile Advertising. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Vol 5 No.1, p235 -248
Le, T.D and Nguyen, B.T.H 2014. Attitudes toward Mobile Advertising: A study of mobile web display and mobile app display advertising. Asian Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2, 87–103