First, let’s take a look at mobile marketing. Advertising through phones without the use of a telemarketer – that oh so annoying salesperson – is a relatively new concept which has cropped up in recent years. However, with the ubiquity and rise of smart phones, reaching people on the move and with the pocket billboard will continue to become more and more prevalent. In fact, much of the investment being made by some of the larger software companies such as Google and Microsoft are in the mobile space. This area, if it can be controlled will have huge potential gains for advertisers as well as brand managers.
Mobile marketing also represents a change in how intrusive marketing can be. With the growth of technologies like Bluetooth, it makes it easier for advertisers to push their wares without the user even remotely wanting the products which are being advertised. It also is something that gets very close to the line of privacy, if not crossing it. As ground rules continue to be built in the mobile marketing sector, there will certainly be some changes which will need to take place which will require adaptation. But, the premise remains, if you are going to learn to market, you will need to make sure not to discount the mobile space.
Another area where marketers often forget to look is in the digital out-of-home or DOOH space. This type of advertising generally utilizes some type of digital signage technology to publish digital videos, graphics and sounds to digital display screens in public venues.
These screens are often liquid crystal displays, but could include even large-format LED screens. Whatever your flavor the CPM rates on these can often be worth it for even the lowliest of self-funded entrepreneurs.
These screens allow advertisers to publish time-sensitive materials to the display of their choice at the time of their choosing. This means if you wanted to target men at a baseball game at five in the afternoon, you could simply put the ad on the specific screen zone you wanted to display the content and publish it to the screen of your choice. This is done surprisingly simply through a server after an IT manager logs into a web-based portal. It can be very powerful if the networks scale is big enough and you know exactly what you want to say and you are doing it with good and applicable content.
Because television and other advertising mediums can break the bank of many small entrepreneurs, it is often a subtle requirement that the companies with which you work for or in look at other less-expensive and more targeted advertising mediums. Just keep in mind, the more mediums you use, the greater potential you have to reach your intended audience. Fragmentation has made that ability easier and less expensive, you just have to know what you are doing and where to look.
About the Author
Nathan Nead is a entrepreneur and part-time blogger who spends his time in the out-of-home digital media space, specifically with digital menus for restaurants. He works with small entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies all over the world, providing them with hardware, software and consulting services. He writes for a number of other online publications.
Photo credit: Digital Signage Insights