Mobile ads effective regardless of campaign goal: Quattro
October 30, 2009
An example of expandable in-app ads
According to a study by Quattro Wireless, mobile advertising is an effective strategy for brands and premium direct-response marketers.
With the proliferation of smartphones, there has been a surge in rich media ads, leading to high click-through rates and engagement. The report found that the second quarter was a critical tipping point as marketers fully embraced the medium.
“For the first time, the market has insight into how brand marketers are using the mobile medium today,” said Lynn Tornabene, chief marketing officer of Quattro Wireless, New York. “Mobile advertising as an effective strategy for brand and premium direct response marketers is not coming – it is here now.
“It is not just for advertising mobile personalization services – like ringtones – but also for brand advertisers that target a broad audience, such as CPGs, autos, finance and entertainment,” she said. “These marketers are embracing the medium by integrating mobile into their marketing mix and developing innovative and engaging creative, thus driving more consumers to click, respond and buy."
Devices are impacting behavior. Touch screen devices drive media consumption and therefore have the highest volumes of ad impressions.
The expandable ad units
Click-through rates are highest on touch screen devices, for animated ads and tend to be higher than average on optimized WAP sites and when placed within applications.
Quattro found that animated ads are the fastest growing ad format.
CPMs vary by the level of targeting used and by the ad category.
Brand marketers such as CPGs, auto, finance and travel tend to use higher levels of targeting and therefore pay higher CPMs, but also generate higher than average click-through rates.
Growth is driven by mobile commerce through ads that link to iTunes and Amazon.com for categories such as entertainment and consumer electronics.
“No matter what your goal – brand impact, DVD sales, car showroom visits – mobile advertising is an effective and efficient medium,” Ms. Tornabene said. “For example, as noted in the report, the RockBand PSP campaign saw click-through rates 20 times those of online ads, and 5 percent of the mobile Web site visitors clicked through to the Amazon product page on their mobile device.
“When planning your creative, integrate the ads that drive the most response, including animated banners and expanding ads, into your media mix so that you can take advantage of the propensity that consumers have to engage with them to drive a higher ROI for your campaigns.”
Here are Quattro’s main takeaways from the study:
- Mobile presents a dynamic medium for marketers to connect with consumers for whom mobile devices provide not just communication but also information and entertainment.
- As smartphone usage grows, media consumption will rise exponentially and along with it, the opportunity for consumers to be exposed to ads within all forms of mobile content.
- Rich media ads (animated and expandables) are currently smaller in volume than static ads but growing; marketers should prepare now for Flash creative which will be available in 2010.
- Mobile targeting comes with a premium, but often yields higher direct response rates.
- Content and ads optimized for mobile yield higher response.
- Marketers need to take advantage of the unique aspects of the mobile medium: devices travel with the consumer, are taken into retail locations and used to research purchase decisions and locations on the go.
“Ad agencies really embraced the creative possibilities of the medium in the second quarter,” Ms. Tornabene said. “It is clear from the data – which shows that animated ads that are twice as effective as text ads, and that expanding ads also drive higher click-throughs – that to really take advantage of mobile consumer behavior, agencies and marketers should provide an engaging experience.
“Our Q Studio team works every day with clients to help them develop and launch the kinds of advertising and mobile Web sites that will drive greater impact and results,” she said.
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