WARC, 7 March 2014
SYDNEY: Australian publishers are embracing the shift to
mobile but are struggling to persuade brands and advertisers to fully exploit
the possibilities it offers, according to leading industry figures.
"Mobile ads are growing exponentially but it's still in
a very desktop manner," said Nicole Sheffield, CEO at NewsLifeMedia, which
publishes such titles as Vogue and GQ.
She explained to AdNews that there were opportunities brands
could explore around functionality and service. "[Brands] have a level of
trial and error, but often we get a brief and the ambition is huge but at the
last minute they lose the courage and go back to a more traditional
approach," she said.
Sheffield felt that advertisers needed to go beyond content
and add value by offering functional services and utilising location-based
tools. A minority were starting to do so and she gave the example of the GQ
15th birthday iPad edition, which had ads featuring video, click to purchase
and other enhancements.
"It's when advertising isn't just an ad, it's content
the reader wants to use," she said. "That's where the opportunities
are but it's still a watching brief and no one's landed on it yet."
At Bauer Media, which publishes more than 80 magazines, head
of mobile Marcelo Silva was in agreement. "If we're serious about being
closer to the consumer and being more relevant, it's silly not to take
advantage of the behaviour patterns of mobile and tablet and cater to
that," he said.
Like Sheffield, he saw location-based tools playing a vital
role. "The most exciting part is when you combine an immersive brand
experience with geo-fencing. Then [mobile marketing] becomes really
powerful," he enthused.
An example? "If advertisers can target a customer who
is at a sports stadium and offer them a free drink or advice for parking, it's
really utilising the core benefits of being mobile."
This reticence among advertisers is not restricted to
Australia. A recent Warc report, State of the Industry: Mobile marketing in
Asia-Pacific, found that while most marketers in the region understood the
significance of mobile marketing, few had a formal strategy in place and three
quarters allocated 10% or less of their budgets to this channel.
Edward Pank, Managing Director at Warc Asia Pacific,
observed that "there is still a long way to go before brands and agencies
in Asia Pacific understand the full potential of mobile for reaching
consumers".
Data sourced from AdNews; additional content by Warc staff
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