Like most professionals, I carry a smartphone. Although I use it frequently for e-mailing with colleagues or texting with my family, I also use its apps to find information or to entertain myself. And as I navigate its 3.5-inch screen, I routinely encounter something else: a growing stream of itsy-bitsy advertisements.
For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads
Artwork: New York Times Company R&D Group with Mark Hansen & Jer Thorp, Cascade, 2010–2013, interactive tool created in collaboration with R&D team and presented in various environments, including a five-screen video wall; a screenshot from a visualization of how Times content is shared across the Twittersphere Like most professionals, I carry a smartphone. Although […]
Summary.
Reprint: R1303D
Many companies envision mobile ads becoming an integral part of their communications strategies. But there’s a growing consensus that ads don’t work on mobile devices; consumers just don’t like them. Instead of creating tiny banner ads, smart marketers will turn to apps to reach customers and engage them.
Effective apps will do one of the following:
- Add convenience. Banking apps, for example, let people pay their bills online, and airline apps let them check in and monitor the status of their flights.
- Offer unique value. In South Korea, commuters can use an app to order groceries while waiting for their trains.
- Provide social value. Apps on Facebook and other sites let users send gifts to their friends.
- Offer incentives. Apps that give away mobile minutes, for instance, can entice customers.
- Entertain. Red Bull and other companies have devised popular games focused on their brands.
“Mobile advertising” is often a hollow phrase, but mobile apps can enable marketers to communicate with consumers in a format that enhances their lives and offers long-term value.
A version of this article appeared in the March 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review.
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