The old joke in marketing circles is that mobile marketing is always three years away from taking off, but experts agree that 2010 may well be the year that the channel will see significant growth and investment.
In 2010, more brands will participate in mobile marketing, and mobile will earn its own seat at the table as agencies and marketers plan their media buys.
“I think that it is quickly going to become a line item in the mix of media,” said Sue McManus, associate VP of interactive marketing for Nationwide. “The ability to target ads on the phone will make it a part of the major media mix.”
Campaigns will continue to grow. In six months in 2009, mobile marketing services firm HipCricket executed 25,000 mobile marketing campaigns.
“For the first time, brands are spending $1 million on mobile,” said Jeff Hasen, VP of marketing at HipCricket. “We see more marketers looking at building sustained programs versus one off campaigns.”
The mobile Web will also continue to grow, especially after Google’s acquisition of AdMob in November 2009. As a result, publishers will begin to offer more display inventory, both on WAP sites and in applications.
