Why Mobile Marketing Agencies Leave Traditional Agencies Shaking in Their Boots

Lior Eldan 05 January 2016

Why Mobile Marketing Agencies Leave Traditional Agencies Shaking in Their Boots

While the mobile revolution has changed the lives of millions worldwide for the better, some find it alarming, and would very much like to go back in time. The same way the rise of blogs and social media networks proved to be old media’s worst nightmare, the shift to mobile has been devastating for a few industries. One that particularly stands out is the marketing arena, where advertising agencies see clients and budgets slipping through their fingers on a daily basis. Here are three very good reasons why traditional marketers should be afraid of the little screen and its huge influence:

It Presents Clear Results

Thanks to the mobile revolution, vague terms like “brand awareness” and “image” have been replaced with data analysis and conversion rates. Mobile data allows clients to see exactly what their marketing team is up to, and if the answer to that question happens to be “not much” – it’s no wonder the team is worried. The ability to track users’ behavior in real time lets clients know what part of a campaign simply isn’t working as well as grants them the ability to request for specific changes to be implemented quickly and efficiently. Gathering data is just the beginning, of course. Brands must know which stats to track as well as understand what the results really mean. Otherwise, devious marketers could easily convince them that the results are phenomenal even when there’s nothing to celebrate. For example, companies are being told by bogus mobile marketers that their app is doing great by stating a significant increase in the number of installs. The mobile savvy marketer, however, keeps CPI (cost per install) in proportion and looks for genuinely engaged and loyal users. As time goes by, brands become more sophisticated and demand detailed benchmarks that can only be provided by a mobile marketing company, leaving traditional marketers no choice but to reconsider their entire approach. In other words, thanks to mobile, clients are now savvier and more demanding.

It’s All about the Product

If you don’t understand mobile products, your mobile strategy is already likely to be suffering, and unfortunately it’s about to get way worse. Yes, mobile is an exciting new playground, but you have to be an expert to play. Product-oriented marketers have a new set of tools – from hyper-targeting to tactile marketing – but in order to properly utilize these tools, advertisers must present a lot more than creativity. While this shift means trouble for those who rely solely on their ability to concoct a killer slogan, it’s good news for others. Since building an in-house team is now far more challenging, companies turn to external services more often and brands allocate their resources towards mobile-first campaigns. This opportunity stems from the understanding that even the most professional marketing teams remain somewhat helpless while forming a mobile strategy for the first time. The sad news is that marketers who are clueless as to what a proper PRD doc looks like will fail in providing savvy clients with the best mobile campaign possible. The market now requires that mobile advertising experts understand the actual product, the creative process and the synergy between the two.

It’s Advertising on Steroids

Back in the day, advertising agencies were given a detailed brief and sufficient time to build a marketing strategy for each campaign. Nowadays, with clients being able to track performance and demand changes in real time, marketers can no longer stick to a pre-determined strategy and must be ready to adapt on very short notice. The mobile need for speed has profoundly changed the marketing process, and mobile advertising experts now prepare an arsenal of different versions in advance and perform thorough A/B testing every step of the way. In fact, the ability to hyper-target potential customers forces marketers to build numerous campaigns from the beginning, each aimed at a different audience. These mobile campaigns then run on multiple networks simultaneously and constantly change based on results.

Advertising agencies find themselves having to collaborate not only with product experts, but also with media buying teams, which adds another new territory for them to catch up on. With changes taking place every minute, marketing agencies cannot afford to communicate with random external service providers, and must collaborate with trustworthy media teams on a regular basis. Add to the list the fact that new platforms (such as wearables) and technologies (Apple Analytics and deep linking, anyone?) are born every day, and you have yourself the perfect recipe for a traditional marketer’s nervous breakdown.

With more and more consumption channels switching to mobile, the above mentioned challenges separate the experts from the clueless rather quickly. FDR’s famous quote, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” might have been true in the pre-mobile era, but if your mobile marketing agency decides to cut corners on its mobile strategy – be afraid. Be very afraid.

Lior Eldan

Lior Eldan is the Co-Founder & COO of Moburst. As an ASO and Mobile media expert, Lior mentors and supports startups, helping them develop and execute their mobile marketing strategies.