What do Consumers Prefer from Local Marketing Mobile Ads?

I know you know there’s been a huge increase in the use of mobile devices over the past couple years, from advanced cellular telephones or smartphones, to e-readers to the iPad, which means adding another component to your local marketing campaign:  mobile ads. However, we encourage you to tread cautiously in how you implement mobile ads as part of your local marketing campaign. After all, consumers typically aren’t thrilled to see advertisements all over the place, and this especially holds true on a relatively personal device such as a cell phone.

Studies show that mobile users’ acceptance of mobile ads hinges on a few important qualities that the ads need to possess.

What are consumers’ top qualities for local marketing mobile advertising?

Providing information: Mobile ads that were informative was the top quality consumers favored according to a 2010 Yahoo! and The Nielsen Company survey that reviewed features that are important to mobile advertising for a variety of products and services, including personal care, apparel, home care, food & beverage, and automotive.

Relevance: According to the same Yahoo! and The Nielsen Company survey, relevance was a close second behind providing information in regards to a consumer’s preference for mobile ads.

Simplicity: Based on this same survey, keeping the ads simple with easy formatting was also important to many when it came to mobile advertising.

Graphics and multimedia: Though this was important to some, per the same survey mentioned above, most cared very little about the graphics and multimedia features of a mobile ad, so again, simplicity is more important. It’s worth noting that this is contrary to iPad advertising research that shows interactive ads allowed users to feel more engaged.

Placement and format: Mobile users tend to favor mobile banners over full-page ads, according to the 2010 InsightExpress “Digital Consumer Portrait,” so be sure to understand what placement and format will least annoy your mobile user consumers and prospects.

What does this mean for your local marketing campaign?

Be smart and focus on providing relevant information when using mobile advertising for local marketing first and foremost, then try to provide the simplest, most effective mobile ads with strategic placement and formatting to enhance a mobile user’s experience vs. annoying them.

If you do the latter, you risk losing them as a potential prospect and consumer all together. We’re finding it’s even more important to be sensitive and consider these elements for mobile advertising than with any other form of advertising. When compared to website ads, mobile ads were 50% more likely to cause negative feelings, as reported by a January 2011 Ipsos Observer survey. The same survey showed that only 15% of respondents liked mobile ads. In addition, mobile ads were disliked the most by Internet users at a whopping 63% of respondents.

What are you finding you like and dislike as a consumer? What are your mobile marketing questions as a marketer?

Chris Marentis

For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL’s Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.