Media Channels Abound in Mobile Marketing

Media channels are many as Michael Becker repeated several times in his podcast interviews with me, increasing the ability of marketers to reach consumers in different ways unlike other media. The Internet, print, broadcast and email are more limited.

Marketing Media Channels

Each mobile phone, due to its operating system (Symbian, Java, Android, iPhone, etc.), type of browser, screen size and other factors turns mobile devices into marketing media channels that are challenging to marketers but offer enormous potential.

Email, radio, television, the Internet and print media, on the other hand, are singular media channels, challenging the creativity of brands and their agencies.

In the past, creative was simpler because there were fewer media channels. Broadcast, print and cable TV were less complex when devising a marketing or advertising campaign.

But times change. Today marketers must understand mobile handset and carrier differences before mounting a mobile campaign. An ad, for example, designed for an iPhone or BlackBerry may not display correctly on the screen of a Samsung phone. In fact, the ad may not appear at all if text, graphics and pictures are not correctly sized for the browser and screen size. Plus mobile marketers can choose from multiple phone media channels: voice, SMS, video, audio, bluetooth and Web.

Compare a mobile phone to a Windows PC or Mac computer. Although they’re differences in Internet ad displays among Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a Windows or Mac computer, they’re only a few major browsers used by millions of personal computer users worldwide. Mobile, again, is different due to multiple media channels and thousands of handsets.

The Mobile Ecosystem

The second difference between mobile and other media is understanding how mobile ads are delivered to a mobile handset. Mobile marketing firms have relationships with aggregators who, in turn, work with mobile carriers to generate “shortcodes” necessary for SMS mobile advertising, the most common type of mobile ad. Shortcodes (“text 12345 to receive information about our widget”) are most frequently rented through aggregators.

Large brands, on the other hand, usually purchase shortcodes specific to each marketing campaign and carrier. You might even consider a shortcode part of a brand. If McDonald’s, for example, owns 46695, no other brand can use that shortcode for mobile campaigns. It’s proprietary to McDonalds.

Finally, the third difference between mobile and other media is regulatory. Marketers and advertisers can’t “buy” mobile lists as with email. They must build their own list of cell phone numbers one-by-one using other means. Some common ways to build mobile phone lists is by promoting shortcodes to customers and non-customers via company websites, retail POS displays, bill inserts and other media like radio and TV.

Only after consumers opt-in to receive promotional text messages can marketers launch mobile campaigns. (They’re also regulatory requirements by industry associations, such as the Mobile Marketing and Direct Marketing Associations and the FCC to control spam.) This protects consumers from receiving text messages they haven’t requested on their mobile phones.

Finally, mobile marketers generally work with mobile marketing firms that have relationships with mobile aggregators who deal directly with the carriers in obtaining shortcodes and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations.

Mobile Marketing Potential

Before you throw yourself off a cliff as you ponder these added requirements impacting mobile marketing and advertising, understand that these requirements protect consumers who own mobile phones from a barrage of unwanted text messages. Since the mobile operators charge their customers for text messaging, it’s critical that standards and laws protect consumers from text message spam.

For a more comprehensive explanation of the mobile ecosystem, listen to Michael Becker’s YouTube videos,

Another great source of information, especially for SMB’s, is Kim Dushinski’s book “The Mobile Marketing Handbook: A Step by Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Mobile Mobile Marketing Campaigns.” Check out her Mobile Marketing Profits website and her podcast interview with me as well.

Tagged as: direct marketing, media channels, michael becker, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Devices, Mobile Marketing, mobile phones