No Cookies, No Problem: 4 Ways To Elevate Your Mobile Strategy

At a time when smartphones, tablets, and now, even smartwatches are changing the way we live, mobile consumers are increasingly just becoming consumers, and mobile marketers are increasingly just becoming marketers. A recent report from eMarketer predicts mobile advertising spend will overtake desktop advertising spend by 2016. And, the lion’s share, by a 3-1 margin, of that mobile spend is happening inside apps, not on the mobile Web. But, as this shift has occurred, and mobile has taken over digital, the customer journey has become more complicated– making it harder for marketers to account for mobile – especially as the digital marketing infrastructures that worked so well for them on desktop haven’t yet caught up. Those used to the tried and true process of using an entire marketing automation system based on cookies are now left scratching their heads. But that doesn’t have to be the case. No cookies? No problem! When it comes to making the most of mobile, the opportunities for using contextual and behavioral data to build audiences for any campaign are limitless. Today’s marketers have access to data for targeting, data for optimization, even data for making offline marketing decisions. And this mobile data doesn’t come from cookies. Instead, it comes from mobile IDs (including Apple’s IDFA and Google’s advertising ID), which provide marketers with a better way to target, track, and understand their customers. Given the pure power of its reach and targeting capabilities, mobile should not only be integrated into your marketing strategy, it should be the cornerstone of that strategy. In order to capitalize on the opportunity ahead, there are three things marketers need to put in place today: 1. Increase spending on mobile If you want to be successful on mobile, then you need to invest in it. All signs point to increasing spending on mobile advertising, so now is the time to jump on board if you haven’t already. In addition to eMarketer’s prediction that 2016 mobile ad spending will surpass desktop, they also expect that by 2019, mobile will account for 72 percent of all digital ad spend. If that’s not enough, a recent Mobile Marketing Association study found the optimal spend for mobile is a double digit percentage of total campaign spend — far more than most marketers are currently allocating. While increased mobile spend is certainly in the cards for most marketers, it’s not just about dumping money on mobile and hoping for the best. It’s about smart spending. This is where the need for unification – and visibility – comes in. 2. Implement a unified approach The customer journey has not only gotten more complicated, but also includes an increasing number of mobile interactions. Previously, marketers could use a cookie-based marketing cloud like Adobe, SAS, or IBM to track their customers’ complete journey. Today, thanks to mobile, it’s more difficult to keep track of that journey – from awareness through to consideration, purchase, and advocacy. This is why you need a unified system that allows full visibility into your customers’ mobile interactions. Mobile shouldn’t live in its own silo: your desktop marketing shouldn’t be separate from your mobile marketing. Collectively, they should both be part of a cohesive digital marketing program, and you should be able to track and view all your digital marketing metrics and results in one place. 3. Take advantage of the richness of mobile data Reaching the right person, in the right place, at the right time, with the right message has long been any marketer’s dream. But now, it’s a reality. One of the biggest misconceptions about mobile surrounds data and the idea that marketers can’t collect good data without cookies. The reality is that measurement capabilities on mobile, specifically when it comes to in-app, are better than desktop capabilities. Apps give brands an unprecedented ability to connect with consumers on a highly personal level, providing value up and down the funnel. Mobile is, at its core, an app centric experience for most users. As a result, marketers can track many metrics including daily spend, impressions, clicks, network attribution, conversions/downloads and re-engagement actions. And in today’s digital age, data is perhaps the most valuable marketing asset you can have. Better data fuels more targeted marketing strategies, which ultimately lead to improved results. 4. Diving into Mobile with Eyes Wide Open Elevating your mobile strategy and incorporating it more effectively into your overall marketing approach will allow you to determine the total value of your customers, and get a more accurate idea of ROI. This all-encompassing view of your marketing data will also allow you to derive better insights as a result. It’s clear that mobile has surpassed even the most generous advertising growth expectations. This rapid growth has had a significant impact on the overall advertising landscape and, in particular, the ability to shift strategies to manage the customer journey. As a result, marketers are left playing catch up with a partial effort towards mobile and a disjointed view of their overall marketing strategy that just won’t cut it anymore. Moving into the mobile-dominated future means forgetting about the lack of cookies on mobile, and integrating all of your digital marketing into a single comprehensive system so you can track performance, build better audiences, and capitalize on the power of actionable, mobile data to reach the right audiences for your brand. Craig Palli is Chief Strategy Officer at Fiksu, a data-fueled mobile marketing technology company. In his role, Craig is responsible for overseeing the company's marketing, business development and performance operations teams. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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No Cookies, No Problem: 4 Ways To Elevate Your Mobile Strategy

When it comes to making the most of mobile, the opportunities for using contextual and behavioral data to build audiences for any campaign are limitless.

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