2009 - School Fees

I have reviewed many articles about the trends for 2009 which I have to admit have been really interesting and which I intend to keep as a reference when I review and compare to what has actually transpired at the end of the year, however what I enjoy most about the articles is not what is being said but that there are individuals out there who are prepared to put their "proverbials" on the line in public forums that have massive reach - big Kahuna's.

So I have a question - If these specialists get it wrong - what's the recourse?

I'm assuming there won't be any. The way technology and trends are evolving it's very easy to be a "specialist" - particularly the way things change and so needless to say I'm sure opinions will change with those trends and or technology.

I also think if you follow the online industry trends you will note that the same trends that appeared in 2008 are still hot topics - with some variation here or there... but there's no real earth shattering revelation that is going to blow us away... we will continue to do what we do and that for me is comforting because the online and mobile marketing space - as my preffered choice of expertise, for someone like me is a dynamic and exciting industry to be involved with.

My views for 2009

We understand that Mobile is probably the most powerful media platform we have yet encountered - the 7th Mass Media - the question is how do corporates effectively engage within the mobile space?

Let's start at the beginning:

Defining your Mobile Strategy

It is very difficult to sift through the clutter of which mobile marketing mechanisms are effective, nice to use, or fit's the budget. In my experience of designing campaigns more than often the marketing manager strips and changes the shape of the proposed strategy to fit the budget allocation and in most cases it is generally a process that has not been given much thought and requires immediate implementation.

Athough I find this absolutely frustrating I understand the reasoning behind it however 2009 has to be a year where more thought and effort goes into the marketing strategy.

I believe that if you have an online strategy you HAVE to have a mobile online equivalent - without question. I.e. you need a mobi-site.
This is the 1st port of call and you need to ensure that the mobi-site you have established works across all platforms. The user experience has to be good - so be wary as to who you have design your site.

Once you have your base set you can then define the "mechanisms" you will utilise to engage with people and this should generally form a part of your overall marketing plan as now your customers can choose to either access your online site, Mobi-site or contact you directly.

The mechanisms that are proving to work well are defined according to your objective and target market and therefore require careful planning and consideration prior to utilisation;

Mxit - is a phenomenal platform for enaging with youth however there is no guarantee that the youth you are trying to talk to are interested in your product and it is also exceptionally difficult for Mxit users to engage directly with your brand from the Mxit application. Thus your communication strategy within this environment is key.

Mobile Banner Adverts - also a phenomenal mechanism of communicating with people with currently in excess of 300 million banner adverts being served to SA users per month. This mechanism facilitates pulling people into your environment as they can link directly to your site from the site where the advert is being rendered, however you do not control who engages with you brand

MMS - also very effective as a mechanism as you can differentiate your brand and provide a hyperlink to your mobi-site however I believe this area will become more cluttered with specific players focusing on delivering MMS messages as a primary mechanism of mobile advertising.

SMS - very effective if your client is expecting to hear from you but utterly worthless if you are trying to market a product as there is too much clutter already and people tend to delete this type of marketing without even reading the message.

There are a multitued of other mechanisms but the point I'm making is simple - define your mobile strategy first. Start with your Mobi-site and then work on mechanisms of encouraging interaction with your customers....as you can see there are many mechanisms and each one has a specific place with specific outcomes. Ensure that you understand what those are (before comitting your marketing spend) and you will not be dissapointed.

There you have it - my "proverbials" on the line - no pun intended there either.