Mobile remains a disruptive force for marketers

Mobile is increasingly seen by marketers in APAC and EMEA to be an effective marketing channel, but as it continues to be a disruptive force across industries it has yet to reach its potential, according to new studies from WARC and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).

A series of three reports, based on surveys of marketing professionals in the UK, 43 markets across EMEA and 23 markets across APAC, highlights how mobile marketing remains a disruptive force and is expected by many to have an even greater impact in the future

The details vary by region, but 93% to 94% of respondents in each report seeing an impact from mobile marketing, and among these, half or more are seeing major disruption now.

More than a third anticipate mobile marketing will have a bigger impact as they take account of consumer behaviours such as mobile payments.

In the UK and EMEA, financial services and leisure & entertainment are seen as the most innovative sectors in mobile; in APAC, however, travel, transport & tourism and retail are ahead.

In terms of specific brands, Amazon leads the way in the UK and EMEA while Unilever is seen as the most innovative brand in APAC.

The studies cover several other areas as well, including:

• Strategy, budgets and integration

Most marketers are connecting their mobile strategies to other marketing activities, although those in APAC face problems transferring strategies across countries, as internet penetration and technology adoption varies. UK and EMEA marketers often lack a clear learning strategy.

Mobile budgets are growing across each region as is investment in marketing technology.

• Tactics and technologies

Social media is the most frequently used media channel in all regions. Marketers are focused on mobile web display advertising for this year with EMEA and APAC also using in-app display mobile advertising, while those in the UK are starting to focus on branded content.

Location data is currently the most utilised technology but AI and AR are widely expected to make an impact over the next five years.

• Barriers and challenges

Post-GDPR, measurement and metrics as well as privacy concerns remain problems for the growth of mobile marketing across the UK.

However, EMEA and APAC marketers are also worrying about internal challenges and ad fraud respectively.

Source: WARC

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