Successful mobile marketing in the UK rests on rewards

New research commissioned by Velti, a leader in mobile marketing technology and services, revealed that 79% of UK consumers believe the growth of mobile advertising is inevitable. The survey, which polled more than 1,600 UK mobile phone users about their usage habits, showed that the majority of Britons are starting to accept that mobile marketing and advertising will continue to increase in popularity, but also laid down a clear message for any marketers hoping to make use of the medium: ‘we want something in return’.

The results of the study showed that, whilst 80% of UK

adults surveyed initially said they did not wish to receive advertising on their mobile phones, 56% of all respondents agreed that they would support mobile marketing and advertising campaigns if it was on an opt-in basis and in exchange for incentives or rewards, ranging from cash, free minutes or relevant special offers from brands.

"This research clearly shows that although consumers expect mobile marketing and advertising to grow in popularity, brands using the medium to communicate with target groups will need to offer consumers added value to be successful," comments Alex Moukas, co-founder and CEO of Velti. "Learning how to incentivise and reward participants is key; consumers understand their value in the chain, so campaigns that fail to offer anything relevant or beneficial will, at best, be treated indifferently and at worst, create negative associations with the brand."

According to the research, cash is king with 50% of respondents admitting that hard currency is the key to securing their buy-in. Next on the consumers’ incentive wish list were free minutes, free texts or data, with 40% of respondents citing them as an attractive reward for receiving advertising or marketing messages. Finally, 22% of respondents viewed location based services, such as local restaurant reviews, as a worthy exchange for mobile marketing communications.

Despite nearly 60% of all respondents agreeing that incentivised marketing and advertising campaigns were attractive, 55% of mobile users over 45 were determined nothing would encourage them to engage with mobile marketing. This was in contrast to only 29% of under 24's opposing the use of mobile as a commercial channel.