In South Africa, the argument for using the mobile phone as an advertising channel is especially strong. An estimated 40 million South Africans have mobile phones, compared to only five million with Internet access. Few channels offer quite as much reach as mobile does.
Mobile advertising has a range of other benefits, including immediacy, personalisation, interactivity and cost-effectiveness. It's a powerful way to reach young, urban consumers with substantial spending power who are not easy to access using other channels. Early adopters have experienced great return on their investments into the mobile channel.
Against that backdrop, ad agencies should be eagerly selling their clients on the benefits of mobile advertising and looking at it as a potential new revenue stream. However, many traditional advertising agencies seem to be resisting the rise of mobile advertising as they did that of online advertising 10 years ago.
The simple reason for this is that many agencies fear that they will see their traditional business eroded by mobile advertising and lose revenue to specialists in the mobile market. However, I believe that the worlds of mobile and traditional advertising are actually more complementary than competitive with each other.
A mobile campaign isn't executed in isolation from the rest of an organisation's branding and advertising strategy. Indeed, mobile campaigns are especially effective when they're used to complement advertising and marketing in other channels such as print and broadcast.
That means that there is considerable scope for traditional agencies to work with mobile specialists to create mobile campaigns that deliver excellent results for clients. Traditional agencies will naturally have the responsibility of creating and delivering consistent brand messages, while the mobile specialist provides the technical know-how to make the mobile campaign work.
Although mobile advertising has enormous potential for the future, it is currently a small and specialised market compared to broadcast, print or online advertising. Many traditional agencies do not believe it to be viable to invest in mobile competencies of their own.
Mobile is a complex and fast-moving field, and it can be difficult for those not specialised in the channel to keep pace with it. People with skills and experience in the field are in short supply.
It makes sense for agencies to partner with specialists in the mobile world who have the technical skills and the knowledge of the environment to help clients to take advantage of the many opportunities that the mobile channel offers.
Ultimately, mobile advertising is simply another option that traditional agencies can offer their clients. Specialists in the mobile field understand that the channel should be integrated with other media and a broader advertising strategy to be truly effective.
At the same time, traditional agencies that are not working with mobile specialists to explore the opportunities of the mobile channel are doing themselves and their clients a disservice. Mobile advertising is highly measurable, allows brands to enter into sustained dialogue with consumers and enables companies to talk to their customers and prospects in a personalised manner. Mobile campaigns can be also be deployed quickly and cost-effectively.
In much the same way as traditional agencies have needed to adapt to the rise of the Internet, they will also need to become comfortable with the world of mobility.
