WHEN the late Steve Jobs revealed the features of the first iPhone in 2007, the audience was amazed and excited—the applause when he demonstrated the capabilities of the multi-touch screen, and the collective shock when he clued the audience in, that one device could be a phone, Internet communicator, and music player—was truly a testament to Apple’s design, engineering and marketing genius.
During that same event, Jobs was joined on stage by Jerry Yang (then CEO of Yahoo) and Eric Schmidt (then CEO of Google), years before the first Android phone entered the smartphone market.
Today, unveiling smartphones with those similar features no longer yields the same effect of awing an audience; but this just goes to show how pervasively and thoroughly digital devices and smartphones have woven themselves into our daily routine.
While Jobs’ audience realized then that the iPhone was truly a revolutionary product, it is doubtful that they could have predicted how much that first model of the device spawned and inspired several innovations that changed society in less than a decade.
Smartphones have changed every aspect of human life across context and cultures; from entertainment, to work and education.
People carry around in their pockets unlimited knowledge, more than they could ever hope to learn in a thousand lifetimes. Businesses also had to change due to smartphones, some businesses even had the bad fortune of closing shop due to obsolescence such as Kodak and music stores.
Smartphones gave audio tapes, CDs and many other magnetic-strip-based media the kiss of death—making downloading the most popular mode of acquiring entertainment media.
Meeting up is easier—no more excuses in accidentally not seeing each other, or not being able to give notice in being late or being lost. No reason to get bored due to the slew of productivity applications and casual games.
If a person wants to capture a memory or just in a silly mood, a smartphone has a camera.
Everyone is always around and closer to each other through a wide offering of chat messaging software—and also, you can use your smartphone to call and text.
The proliferation of smartphones makes the mobile-first strategy a good strategy.
It is a catch phrase that players in the digital and mobile marketing space use to indoctrinate clients of the benefits in using mobile-based campaign solutions for marketing, selling and advertising with the following objectives in mind—branding (brand identity, introduction and amplification), measurable impressions, conversions and product sale or service subscription that directly translates to revenue.
Creating mobile-centric campaigns is a necessary move for any company that wants to engage with its customers. The response, beyond just the eyeballs, is just at the fingertip of the audience and maximizing the power of mobile will spell success.
Mobile apps and services such as sms, smartphone apps and calls are the basic channels. SMS is mainly used for the general public; no matter what demographics and socio-economic classification. It can be used to inform the user through a broadcast, engage a customer through two-way communication.
Apps and sites provide richer communication with their multimedia capability and can be used for information and interaction with the customers.
These channels— done via sms, utility app, chat app, games—can create a form of feedback system from customers and brands, promotional campaigns such as raffle promos and loyalty programs.
Building a campaign, however, starts from the objective. In the end, mobile is just a channel that brings brands and companies closer to their customers.
How the campaign is designed is really what makes it powerful.
(Aris and Brigette Villarin will be the facilitators of The Power of Mobile on Feb. 3-4, 2016. It is an ideal workshop for marketing heads, brand managers and business people who want to learn how to maximize their marketing campaigns with the use of mobile.
Aris and Brigette are the Chief Technology Officer and Operations Director, respectively, of Megamobile Inc. Both have worked with numerous local and foreign brands, from service conceptualization to project management. They have a wealth of experience on the technical side of a business and also have a deep understanding of consumers.
For details about the workshop, write to ask@inquireracademy.com or call (632) 834-1557. Look for Astrud De Castro.)