Our devices are often the first thing that we reach for in the morning and the last things we put down at night. From texting to streaming music and videos and Skyping, mobile video has become the primary mode of connecting to web content for people all over the world.
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t’s easy to see why marketers are focusing their efforts towards creating content for their clients that translates well to mobile. Mobile video viewership is, without a doubt, the largest and fastest growing niche for new ad revenue for content creators and owners – according to a recent study, mobile devices account for 55% of all web traffic worldwide and that number is only rising. It is also the fastest growing category in advertising. In the U.S. alone, more than 50 million people regularly watch video on their mobile devices and a new study predicts that that number will jump by almost 4% by 2016.
Brands are increasing their spend on desktop advertising while, at the same time, time being spent on desktops is decreasing. Due to this, there is a massive (almost $25B) opportunity in taking advantage of mobile advertising. Here at Fresh Ink, we want to help you to take advantage of this.
There are a number of different ways that mobile advertising can be customized for maximum impact. Mobile-based spots like 5-second ads and vertical ads (as opposed to YouTube’s horizontal content) have a 9x higher completion rate than competitive horizontal content.
While statistics are all well and good, you may be wondering how you can access this trend on a practical level. A recent article published by Think With Google helps to break down some actionable steps that you can keep in mind as you develop strategies with what marketers call a “Mobile-First” attitude.
The first thing to think about is the “portability” of your idea or campaign. Is it able to go wherever the user goes? Are its format and length conducive to consumers viewing or listening to it while on the go? As Think With Google says, “If it can’t follow the user through his or her day, it’s not mobile.”1 Consider also that people who view videos on their smartphones are 1.4x more likely to watch ads than their TV or desktop. 2
A second defining characteristic is to keep your campaign “personal.” Consumers already have a personalized relationship with their mobile devices, so you should harness that pre-existing quality by giving them a personalized feeling that can be viewed on their devices. If your idea can cater to the individual needs of the users you are targeting, you will be in great shape. For example, consider the recent campaign by AKQA called “Written In the Stars”. Using the company’s mobile site, users could create and send messages in the stars to their loved ones, who could then discover the message by scrolling their cameras across the night sky. How much more personalized could one be than by giving users the opportunity to write in the sky while also promoting their brand?
Third, you must make sure that your idea can stand the test of time. People ALWAYS have their mobile devices on them, which means that the idea must make sense anytime, anywhere. That isn’t to say that you need to keep your ideas so general that they lose their personality, simply that you should create a self-contained story that can stand on its own.
A final point to bring up is a concept called “versioning.” This simply means that you shouldn’t assume that a one-size-fits-all approach would work for your brand. Perhaps your website, when viewed on a desktop, is as sharp as can be. Make sure that the same quality you bring to the desktop site comes through when viewed on mobile. A recent study found that when brands fully embrace “Vertical Versioning” and optimize their viewing experience based on different platforms, it can yield up to a 300% improvement in conversion rates.
Best of luck with your next “Mobile-First” campaign! We’d love to hear about your success.
References:
1https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/shortlists/the-creative-shortlist-made-for-mobile.html
2Google/Ipsos MediaCT, U.S. “Brand Building on Mobile” survey, February 2015