We have collected opinions from some of the leading experts and practitioners on mobile marketing trends to look out for in 2013, which we hope will provide you with some insight for your 2013 mobile marketing activities.
Mobile Marketing Trends 2013
 | Nik Maguire, Senior Mobile Solutions Consultant, 2ergo |
 The big mobile stories of 2012 were dominated by handset manufacturers fighting tooth and nail for market share and lawyers getting rich from high-profile legal battles over patents.I’m sure we’ll see this carry through into 2013 but there are some interesting developments ahead as we enter a new year. Here are some of our top predictions about what we’re likely to see in the ever-changing mobile space over the next 12 months: App apathy? HTML5 m-sites will grow in popularity at the expense of apps. All digital marketers should question the role of an app in a mobile strategy when HTML5 can offer a cheaper, more dynamic and easier way to manage platform. Apple Passbook will flop in Europe Passbook is a nice idea but it’s a feature that consumers aren’t ready for and don’t really understand. Apple has been great at selling technology that people didn’t realise they wanted but we think Passbook will fail to take off. Samsung will take a bigger bite out of Apple We all thought that Apple was invincible, right? What 2012 taught us was that the technology and design gap between Cupertino and Korea is closing. Consumers really like Samsung mobile devices and the company has shown its mettle over the past year. We think 2013 will be a big year for Samsung and it will gain more market share at the expense of its biggest rival. | |
| James Critchley, CEO, cloud.IQ |  |
 The practice of ‘showrooming’ – where consumers visit a physical store to check out a product but then turn to their smartphones to find it cheaper elsewhere – is growing fast. If you want to benefit from this, it’s crucial that your online presence is optimised for mobile devices. Consumers quickly get frustrated having to pinch, grab and zoom around regular sites on small devices. It’s not that tricky to convert your site into a smartphone-friendly format, but surprisingly few businesses do this. There is no doubt the world has changed and that consumers are demanding far more choice about how they engage with the organisations that matter to them. The challenge for the technology community is to ensure that we help oil the wheels of the new multi-channel world, rather than obstruct it. | |
 | Michael Hechler, Senior Vice President and General Manager Physical Commerce Group, Digital River |
| Having a traditional e-commerce website is fundamental to drive sales and increase brand awareness, but as smartphones and tablets continue to proliferate, companies need to embrace a multi-channel commerce strategy in 2013. A study commissioned by Digital River of 250 senior decision makers from global companies in the software, games and consumer electronics markets, confirms this channel diversification. When survey participants were asked which channels they intended to use in the next two years, 46 percent said they plan to expand their commerce strategies to include mobile commerce follow by app stores at 40 percent, subscriptions at 36 and social commerce at 34 percent (the sale of products or services through a social network). E-commerce is no longer simply a digital storefront accessible by a desktop PC. It is quickly becoming a multi-faceted, increasingly powerful spectrum of tools and technologies that marketers simply must master to remain competitive. To build a loyal customer base in 2013, it will be vitally important for businesses to provide a seamless online experience across multiple platforms and devices. | |
| Simon Griffin, Director of Design, Etre |  |
| Media are fragmenting – second screen phenomenon In the not so distant past, companies reached out to us via print, radio, television, Internet, mobile and in-store (in person). Nowadays, in the mobile space alone, they can reach us via web, voice, email, SMS, MMS, apps, instant messaging and more (on our phones, tablets, laptops and e-readers). The result: transactions that start in one channel are increasingly likely to move to others (for example, a transaction may start in-store before moving to a mobile device and then finishing on the telephone). But that’s not all: Because while the transactions of the past were linear in nature (moving between channels in sequence, one after the other), the transactions of today are a tangle of simultaneous activities. A good example of this trend is the “second screen” phenomenon: Research shows that an increasing number of us watch TV while simultaneously using a smartphone or tablet. We might use this “companion device” to become an active agent in the show we are “watching” or, alternatively, to do something completely unrelated instead. What this means is that companies must take a more holistic approach to designing and optimising their products and services. That is, they can no longer design for consumption in one channel in isolation of all others, and must find ways of orchestrating smooth cross-channel interaction. | |
 | Guénolé Le Gall, Head of Mobile, Intela |
| With new innovations emerging from the industry and the boom in global smartphone use, mobile is an increasingly exciting space to watch and capitalise on. Yet, even though mobile continues to command much hype, in a climate of economic restraint and declining budgets, marketing investment within the channel remains somewhat cautious. Marketers are eager to take advantage of the new wave of opportunities mobile offers will however increasingly turn to mobile performance marketing solutions in 2013. The performance-based business model presents a win-win situation for both advertisers and a growing pool of publishers who are keen to monetise their online properties. Advertisers are able to deliver mobile campaigns across a wider selection of inventory and with minimal risk, only being required to pay for guaranteed leads and results that have been generated. The growing popularity of M-commerce is also set to be a major talking point for next year and will be one of the most profitable areas for brands running campaigns. Typically, mobile performance marketing solutions work particularly well across the vertical industries also noted for their success in E-commerce and M-commerce, such as travel, retail, automotive, or insurance. For advertisers who wish to make a return in the burgeoning world of M-commerce, regardless of which specific sector, mobile performance marketing solutions will become an attractive marketing proposition in 2013. | |
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