Steve Hasker, Nielsen’s President and Chief Operating Officer, recently presented at the MMA Forum in India, hosted by the Mobile Marketing Association. His talk focused on the growing number of mobile users in the country and what it means for marketers.
Mobile is the ultimate disruptor in marketing today. Fast approaching the billion-user mark in India, the mobile medium cuts through all segments of consumers and markets. An estimated one-fifth of rural consumers access mobile phones; no other platform has that level of reach.
Thanks to this growing popularity, video advertising through the mobile medium is booming. Increasingly, mobile is becoming a part of most marketing campaigns, if not the center piece in some. Still, total spend on mobile video advertising in India seems to trail viewership.
Metrics that were created when the mobile medium was in its nascency are still in practice, which is not helping the mobile medium to deliver to its full potential. Mobile marketers struggle when the performance of their campaigns is compared to traditional media like TV.
To overcome these obstacles, Hasker spoke about the pressing need for standardized measurement for digital and, importantly, a unified approach across media platforms. He also discussed how we can synergise different mediums and help marketers measure every impression and every user on every medium. This in turn will create a level playing field for all, helping them win at mobile and business.
Hasker did caution that, while there are clear opportunities for mobile advertising to grow, not all time spent on mobile devices is created equal for marketers and, therefore, should be carefully considered before being compared to other platforms. Talking about how mobile devices are becoming the “life-remote,” he highlighted the need to differentiate how users spend time on their mobile devices—for example, when a consumer is chatting, calling etc. Given this scenario, he noted that mobile marketers will need to find the right opportunities for advertising.
