SoLoMo and the dawn of the post-PC era
Simon van Wyk, founder of HotHouse, one of Australia's leading independent digital agencies, takes a look at how mobile will mature in 2012.They say that 2011 saw the dawning of the post-PC era. With the accelerated shift to mobile everything, I can certainly understand why. While I don't believe the PC is dead, I do believe that mobile is moving at such a high speed that in 2012 it will be imperative for marketers to own the mobile screen - no matter how daunting the task. While 2011 might have been the year that brands "did" mobile by creating a native app, in 2012 marketers will understand that mobile is so much more.
For me it's not that very different from those brands that back in the
day that created brochure ware websites and those that realised the full
commercial potential, connectedness, and power of the web.
Native apps are out
When you're considering your mobile strategy in 2012, creating a native app and crossing your fingers should not be a consideration. It's not job done.
Even in Australia with its rampant growth of Apple iPhones, they still only account for 45% of smartphones sold over here. And while there are something like 28 million mobile subscribers out there, smartphones account for less than 10 million of them.
So you need to understand that the mobile landscape is so much more than iPhones and iPads. And I think this fact is slowly dawning on marketers here. While iPhone users may love your iPhone app, not everyone is Apple centric. They may be connecting with you on their Google Android phone, RIM BlackBerry or their HP WebOS as well. Furthermore, with Nokia's upcoming launch in Australia of their budget smartphone mode - the Lumia 710 on the Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 platform - at some point in 2012, you can expect a slew of new smartphone users on this platform too.
As marketers, you need to assess your audience and understand your customer demographic and then work out the best technology fit.
Meeting business objectives
At the heart of every mobile campaign should be the realisation of your business objectives. And for every branded iPhone app that I've seen in 2011, I've wondered about the business objectives underpinning it. I've wondered how marketing goals can be met when only a small slice of your customer base can actually use it. As high as smartphone penetration is for iPhones in Australia - it's not universal.
By concentrating on iPhone apps, you're excluding the majority of your customers which is hardly a great strategy for most businesses. For me, it's a sure way of knowing that the business doesn't understand mobile and nor is it being treated seriously.
But I think that marketers are starting to get it. I think you're finally having your ah-ha moment. To me in 2012 there will be fewer marketers creating native iPhone apps and more marketers producing mobile work that delivers real commercial outcomes for the business. Your goal will be to provide an optimised mobile experience through clever design, functionality, and ease of use.
SoLoMo optimisation
As the market matures in 2012, you'll put SoLoMo optimisation on your agenda. Besides sounding like the moniker for a new online dating site, SoLoMo is actually the convergence of social, local and mobile.
Clearly by its very nature mobile enables brands to talk to the right people at the right time in the right places and SoLoMo describes the environment in which consumers tweet about their experiences, search for nearby shops, cafes and bars, cinemas and theatres and check in at their favourite local businesses to see what's hot.
SoLoMo is mobile realised. You just can't do this on a desktop.
This combination of utility, portability and increasingly social connectivity will force brands to abandon superfluous native apps and ensure their brand is in the hands of all mobile users. 2012 will be the year of using mobile effectively.
And rather than thinking apps first, in 2012 you'll take your mobile brief to specialists who can add business value and help you plan to reach all of your target audience.
You'll start looking at different technologies that will allow you extend your message to reach all of your target audience. And you'll need to answer questions about where the user is when they need to interact with you and what they are looking for.
No more novelty bling
Indeed, 2012 sees the introduction of a new category for mobile work at the feted Cannes Lions. Rather than being an add-on in other categories, I'm hoping that we'll see a raft of work that is judged on customer engagement, interactivity, longevity and effectiveness and not just on the novelty bling that looks great but delivers no real ROI.
2012 is time to get serious about mobile.
Native apps are out
When you're considering your mobile strategy in 2012, creating a native app and crossing your fingers should not be a consideration. It's not job done.
Even in Australia with its rampant growth of Apple iPhones, they still only account for 45% of smartphones sold over here. And while there are something like 28 million mobile subscribers out there, smartphones account for less than 10 million of them.
So you need to understand that the mobile landscape is so much more than iPhones and iPads. And I think this fact is slowly dawning on marketers here. While iPhone users may love your iPhone app, not everyone is Apple centric. They may be connecting with you on their Google Android phone, RIM BlackBerry or their HP WebOS as well. Furthermore, with Nokia's upcoming launch in Australia of their budget smartphone mode - the Lumia 710 on the Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 platform - at some point in 2012, you can expect a slew of new smartphone users on this platform too.
As marketers, you need to assess your audience and understand your customer demographic and then work out the best technology fit.
Meeting business objectives
At the heart of every mobile campaign should be the realisation of your business objectives. And for every branded iPhone app that I've seen in 2011, I've wondered about the business objectives underpinning it. I've wondered how marketing goals can be met when only a small slice of your customer base can actually use it. As high as smartphone penetration is for iPhones in Australia - it's not universal.
By concentrating on iPhone apps, you're excluding the majority of your customers which is hardly a great strategy for most businesses. For me, it's a sure way of knowing that the business doesn't understand mobile and nor is it being treated seriously.
But I think that marketers are starting to get it. I think you're finally having your ah-ha moment. To me in 2012 there will be fewer marketers creating native iPhone apps and more marketers producing mobile work that delivers real commercial outcomes for the business. Your goal will be to provide an optimised mobile experience through clever design, functionality, and ease of use.
SoLoMo optimisation
As the market matures in 2012, you'll put SoLoMo optimisation on your agenda. Besides sounding like the moniker for a new online dating site, SoLoMo is actually the convergence of social, local and mobile.
Clearly by its very nature mobile enables brands to talk to the right people at the right time in the right places and SoLoMo describes the environment in which consumers tweet about their experiences, search for nearby shops, cafes and bars, cinemas and theatres and check in at their favourite local businesses to see what's hot.
SoLoMo is mobile realised. You just can't do this on a desktop.
This combination of utility, portability and increasingly social connectivity will force brands to abandon superfluous native apps and ensure their brand is in the hands of all mobile users. 2012 will be the year of using mobile effectively.
And rather than thinking apps first, in 2012 you'll take your mobile brief to specialists who can add business value and help you plan to reach all of your target audience.
You'll start looking at different technologies that will allow you extend your message to reach all of your target audience. And you'll need to answer questions about where the user is when they need to interact with you and what they are looking for.
No more novelty bling
Indeed, 2012 sees the introduction of a new category for mobile work at the feted Cannes Lions. Rather than being an add-on in other categories, I'm hoping that we'll see a raft of work that is judged on customer engagement, interactivity, longevity and effectiveness and not just on the novelty bling that looks great but delivers no real ROI.
2012 is time to get serious about mobile.
People that write these things... this reads like it was written in 2010.
Native apps are out, please. If you have half decent engineers you'll be able to launch on a single most suited platform and then the second most, etc.
Sorry for the rant, but digital people that talk this crap do my head in.
Sent from my webos device.