/522_2011-03_Knotice by Interbrand

Harnessing the Power of the Mobile Web

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Initiating Deeper Brand Engagement with a Purposeful, Relevant Approach

White Paper & Guide By Dave Lawson Bryce Marshall

Harnessing the Power of the Mobile Web

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Table of Contents Introduction: Why the Mobile Web Matters

The Mobile Web: Taking a Purposeful and Relevant Approach

The Wired Web Paradigm

The Mobile Web Paradigm

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Identify High Value “Phase & Context” Combinations

Don’t Confuse Connectors with the End Destination

Choose the Right Connector(s)

The 2D Barcode Landscape

Mobile Web Content Can be More than Words

Distribution and Channel Conflict Considerations

Don’t Wait

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Goal Setting

Data Capture

100% Crystal Clear Calls-To-Action

Testing: Connectors, Users, Experience and Load

Post Launch Monitoring

Customer Service

Partner Selection

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Campaign Execution Considerations

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Strategy Considerations

Platform Technology Considerations

Device Recognition and Analytics

Platform Agility

Universal Profile Management

Personalization and Relevance

System Integration

Native Multi-Channel Support

Embedded Measurement and Analytics

In Conclusion

About the Authors

Dave Lawson, Director of Mobile Engagement

Bryce Marshall, Director of Strategic Services

About Knotice

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Introduction: Why the Mobile Web Matters The mobile web has garnered a lot of attention in the last year. It has evolved rapidly and changed dramatically. In a short period of time, it’s challenging the richness and immersive experience of native apps while offering an environment that permeates every aspect of a mobile strategy – from apps, to mobile ads, to SMS/MMS, QR codes, to mobile websites themselves.

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When we talk about taking a purposeful and relevant approach to the mobile web, the purpose is derived from the phases of the customer lifecycle, and the relevance relates to the context of the consumer at a specific point in time. Combine any phase with the consumer context and you’ll quickly establish the requirements for a mobile web experience that will be purposeful for you, the marketer, while at the same time, relevant to your customer.

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Over the next decade, the mobile web will be a key conduit for your customer relationships and foundational to your overall mobile strategy. We hope you find this white paper to be a helpful resource to frame internal discussions regarding the mobile web, its relationship to other mobile channels, and as a practical guide when thinking through strategy, campaign execution, and technology considerations to use it effectively today and into tomorrow.

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The mobile web is not just your mobile website. That’s a part of it, but it’s much more. If used properly, mobile web can offer deeper reach to mobile consumers at each phase of the customer lifecycle, doing so within the context of the consumer interaction. The mobile web is not about sitemaps and wireframes. It’s more about your customer lifecycle and how customers move through it, leveraging the mobile web in a purposeful and relevant manner so it helps them (and helps you) every step of the way – from awareness to retention.

The Mobile Web: Taking a Purposeful and Relevant Approach

The Wired Web Paradigm As with any online or offline marketing strategy, understanding consumer needs as they pertain to a customer lifecycle or buying cycle model is a great start. But in the wired web paradigm, there is little room for additional consumer context – the context being the consumer, online, using a PC. This paradigm has thrived and has needed little re-working over the years because PCs and browsers allow web users to consume, compile, navigate and disseminate large amounts of content relatively quickly. Lifecycle Phase • • • • •

Awareness Consideration Desire Action Retention

Consumer Context • Online

Connectors • • • • •

Search Display Social Email Direct

Wired Web • Multi-purpose site • Landing page or microsite

Once lifecycle phase and context is established, we use connectors such as search, email marketing, display advertising and social media that link consumers to a traditional wired web site. This has served a multi-purpose experience for years. And when a more singular, campaign-specific experience is needed, landing pages or microsites are used.

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The Mobile Web Paradigm The mobile web paradigm is no different in that a lifecycle or buying cycle model is useful when developing strategy to engage consumers. However, the mobile web paradigm is different in two very meaningful ways: the consumer context is far more dynamic, and the tools for receiving/consuming content are constrained. Within the mobile web paradigm consumer connectedness is perpetual, making context fluid and dynamic. Consumers can be anywhere - standing in a store, out in a shed fixing a lawn mower, trying to put a new piece of furniture together, or sitting in a doctor’s office. The scenarios are truly endless. However, marketers can take advantage of mobile-specific connectors to drive consumers to purposeful and relevant mobile web experiences regardless of context.

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Lifecycle Phase • • • •

Awareness Consideration Desire Action

• Retention

Consumer Context • Anywhere interacting with brand • In-store or on-location • Using product or service • Online

Connectors • • • • • • •

2D barcode SMS Search Display Social Email Direct

Mobile Web • Purposeful and relevant experience

Considering the mobile user’s general impatience and that the tools for consuming content are constrained, emphasis must be placed on delivering relevant content quickly. This requires crafting mobile web experiences tailored to both consumer lifecycle AND context. The use of connectors such as 2D barcodes or mobile search advertising delivers consumers to the right mobile web content at precisely the right

For example… Building Brand Awareness Mobile web strategy acts as an ideal companion to existing media spend. Here, awareness is enhanced with a mobile web connector included in print advertising.

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time and location. This unburdens brands from having to create the traditional multi-purpose sites in an effort to account for a broad range of consumer lifecycle phases and contexts. Web design habits that are a holdover from the wired web paradigm will not be effective in the mobile channel.

For example, a moment of truth, where context and customer phase come together, is on the retail floor. When store shelves are stocked with in-store competition, the mobile web can help educate consumers. Within the consideration phase, purposeful and relevant approach might include a 2D barcode on the product or packaging that connects consumers to a device-optimized microsite – one with streamlined navigation to allow effortless access to a useful mobile web experience. This can include product specifications and features – even device-optimized video – so shoppers can make apples-to-apples comparisons and evaluate your product to others without leaving the store to do research.

“What’s in the Box”

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From the initial mobile call-to-action to the last mobile click, engaging the consumer in a seamless, relevant mobile web experience deepens the relationship with your brand while driving towards the desired outcome for both the marketer and the consumer.

The The QR code on product packaging links the consumer to “What’s in the Box,” allowing easy access to product information and specifications, supporting the consideration phase while shopping in-store.

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Strategy Considerations Deciding to take a purposeful and relevant approach to your mobile web initiatives is the first step in harnessing its power and unlocking its potential. Unlike simply repurposing your traditional or wired web strategy, a strong mobile web approach will show consumers an overall consciousness of wanting to connect with them in a relevant way at any time, on any device, in the manner they choose.

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With this consumer-centered approach as a backdrop, the following are additional considerations you should incorporate when developing your mobile web strategy: • • • • • • •

Identify high value “phase & context” combinations Don’t confuse connectors with the end destination Choose the right connector(s) Understand the 2D barcode landscape Content can be more than words Pay attention to distribution considerations Don’t wait

Identify High Value “Phase & Context” Combinations When you look at the phases of your customer lifecycle and assess the variety of contexts where you currently have brand interaction, where are the greatest opportunities and pain points to take advantage of by means of the mobile web? For instance, if the net promoter score (NPS) for a manufacture of snowmobiles is being impacted by parts and service support following the purchase (retention phase), this is a perfect opportunity to connect customers to a purposeful and relevant mobile web experience to address the issues. More than likely, it’s not that the service information doesn’t exist; it’s just not readily or easily accessible to the vehicle owner when he or she needs it, especially given the varying consumer contexts of equipment use. A simple QR code on the equipment when scanned can connect the user to a purposeful and relevant mobile web experience for parts and service support – highly matched to lifecycle phase and consumer use context.

Scan for Parts and Service

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Don’t Confuse Connectors with the End Destination When people discuss mobile strategy, oftentimes too much focus is placed on the type of connector being used instead of the destination the consumer is being connected to. In our snowmobile example, the 2D barcode (in this case a QR code) is important to connect the customer with a purposeful and relevant mobile web experience, but without the end experience, the 2D barcode is entirely useless. Think of the connector as your vehicle to get mobile users where you want them to go versus the destination itself. Car, taxi or train may matter, but not as much as getting your passenger to the right destination smoothly and on time.

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Choose the Right Connector(s) Decision criteria for which connector to use can depend on demographics, audience preferences, the context of the situation, and media used for delivery. Cost, reach, and rate of general adoption (which can vary based on demographic) are other important factors. Also consider that your connector strategy may differ based on lifecycle phase. If customers have already made the “mobile journey” with you through the awareness, desire and consideration phases, connecting with them in the retention phase should be easier. They’ll quickly recognize the calls-to-action and accompanying connectors. And more importantly, they’ll be confident in where you are directing them; that it will be relevant to their respective context and need.

Think of the connector as your vehicle to get mobile users where you want them to go… There are two primary, mainstream mobile connectors available to marketers today – 2D barcodes and SMS (i.e., texting a keyword to a short code). Of course, there are other emerging possibilities, (such as RFID or Radio Frequency Identification); however, this white paper will stay focused on the two, as we promised only today’s practical approaches that can be deployed in the next 12 months. From the perspectives of pure reach and best practices, marketers today will usually be best served if they can craft a call-to-action that utilizes a 2D barcode and SMS. However, this isn’t always practical or desired. SMS fees (text fees) get expensive at scale and SMS may require carrier approval depending on the type of consumer interaction, (e.g., a sweepstakes). Side-stepping an SMS call-to-action as a connector could provide significant cost savings and increase your speed-to-market. However, if you want the guaranteed reach of a call-to-action that nearly all mobile users can engage, SMS as a connector is a must.

The 2D Barcode Landscape As an easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy option for marketers and consumers, 2D barcodes have recently made a strong showing here in the U.S. and come in a variety of flavors. While they are capable of generating a number of responses (like sending a text, prompting a file download, downloading contact information,

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and auto-updating social media status), the most common execution today is a redirect to a mobile web URL. Historically in the U.S., 2D barcodes have gotten a slow start based on the passive nature of their placements in newspapers and some other traditional print media. Today, it’s a good bet you have likely seen them as a consumer on Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising, in magazines, accompanying direct mail, on packages and store displays and in catalogs as well. Approaching a 2D initiative could provide enough fodder for its own white paper so we’ll hit on some high points and touch on some key considerations here.

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Perhaps as a testament to their ease of creation, there are standard QR codes that you can generate and manage using free services like Google, bit.ly, and literally hundreds of others. These are fine services for one-off and non-commercial use. However, when deployed for commercial use and at scale, marketers quickly require additional insight and advanced analytics that the free services don’t provide. Tracking of scan activity that isn’t based on web analytics, but rather app interaction may be extremely valuable to marketers based on the nature of the campaign. Specifically, this reporting often provides much better fidelity regarding the location and number of unique scans. Keep in mind that advanced app-analytics will only be available for consumers that used the respective QR reader of the commercial service.

When considering 2D barcodes as a connector that drives to your mobile web experience, be sure to not use technology for technology’s sake…. Make sure you are delivering the right experience for where you are in your customer life cycle. Companies like ScanLife, Kaywa (qrcode.kaywa.com) or BeQRious (qrcodetracking.com) offer both nocost non-commercial options and paid options. An early leader in the scanning realm has been RedLaser, with multi-millions of their shopping scanner apps downloaded. They have recently opened up their scanner from UPC-only to also include QR. Note that the technology for most of these top-tier codes are fairly similar when used for most basic purposes. Differences arise on the side of the respective vendor’s app that is used to scan. Some perform more reliably; others have nuanced differentiation in user experience. Ultimately, you want to choose the one that is most popular with consumers because that will provide you better analytics on the backend. There are other proprietary services like snaptag and jagtag (http://www.jagtag.com) that are similar to 2D in origin but, rather than using a reader, leverage the native camera phone and MMS or email capabilities on any device. At first glance, marketers appreciate the universality of the “no app required”

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approach, but quickly discover a rather clumsy and potentially fee-riddled process. Users can send jagtags via SMS, email, and Twitter to get around MMS fees and sometimes spotty carrier support. Software and Internet bellwether, Microsoft, also entered the fray with Microsoft Tag. They have done a commendable job with: 1) device support; 2) providing a simple, universal call-to-action that can accompany any tag for consumers to download the tag reader to their device; 3) ensuring marketers a relatively consistent consumer experience from app installation through scan, and 4) delivering a reporting environment that provides useful app analytics for a large number of scans.

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The 2D barcode market is rapidly evolving. The following are the key criteria marketers need to consider during the deployment of any 2D barcode technology. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Does using the code make my consumer’s experience with my brand better? Will my consumers see and recognize my code? Will consumers know what to do when they see my 2D barcode? If they don’t, how do I explain what to do? Once the app is installed, how many steps is it for consumers to “scan and land”? Available analytics

With a possible reach of 50 million mobile subscribers at press time (according to a number of sources including Forrester), fewer than 5% of those with phones capable of scanning 2D barcodes report doing it regularly. This doesn’t mean others won’t, but there is definitely a need to consider education as part of your marketing challenge in 2011, especially if your consumers don’t fit the early-adopter tech-savvy persona. When considering 2D barcodes as a connector that drives to your mobile web experience, be sure to not use technology for technology’s sake. Ask yourself the above simple but important questions to assure you are delivering the right experience for where you are in your customer life cycle. In addition, tap a partner with diverse experience executing 2D initiatives, and preferably one that is not incented to recommend any one particular 2D barcode option.

Mobile Web Content Can be More than Words The content in a purposeful and relevant mobile web experience plays off the customer. Offer an experience that includes relevant, valuable information and functionality that satisfies their needs. Reach out in an engaging, clear manner.

Existing assets which can be optimized for mobile are like gold - but the focus must remain on the purpose and relevance of what is presented. Content for the mobile web shouldn’t be limited to words. If appropriate depending on the circumstance, a purposeful and relevant experience might also connect users to a mobile experience containing, not only information, but valuable functionality, such as locator maps, transactional information, downloads,

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video and more. But whatever content you choose, the approach needs to be congruent with the audience itself. Design your content around the user’s point of view.

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To demonstrate content considerations, let’s use video as an example, accessible by scanning a 2D barcode. When sending users to a video, how long will it take to view? What’s the video about? You’ll get more people to watch if you offer more details about what to expect. Do you need to communicate information to the viewer before the video? Is there an opt-in opportunity to capture user data? Or do you need to click again to begin? What happens after the video – is there a call to action? You might consider having a “share” functionality (“share this on Facebook”) option, links to related videos, product details, etc. Repurposing existing content can help brands accelerate their entrance into mobile web. Existing assets (like digital video, which can be optimized for mobile) are like gold – but the focus must remain on the purpose and relevance of what is presented. For any content to be used in a purposeful and relevant experience, there are things to consider. Is the information presented within context? Is there a call to action? Is it appropriate? Be it a video clip, access to user reviews, or product specs instead, simply put, give the people what they want.

Distribution and Channel Conflict Considerations When it comes to defining interactions in direct brand-to-consumer relationships, opt-ins and ongoing communications, the sky’s the limit. But if you have distribution partners involved, you have other factors to consider as you develop your strategic approach. As you plan purposeful and relevant mobile web experiences for your brand, you need to evaluate and consider the priorities of your distribution partners. To avoid potential channel conflict, and depending on customer context, you may need the flexibility to suppress certain aspects of your mobile web strategy based on distribution dependencies for getting your product into consumers’ hands.

Don’t Wait

Taking a purposeful and relevant approach to the mobile web will counter your competition’s early efforts.

Some marketers feel it’s still early for mobile. Their “strategy” is to let the competition educate the market first, and then they’ll jump in later. When faced with new challenges, it’s tempting to “safely” watch from the sidelines, but this waitand-see position puts your brand at risk. As the awarenessadoption curve accelerates, waiting can damage your brand’s position, inviting your competition to create the long-term user habits for your market. Instead, determine your brand’s fit in the mobile space on an appropriate, reasonable scale. Get started. Learn by trial-and-error and with experienced partners. Taking a purposeful and relevant approach to the mobile web will counter your competition’s early efforts.

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Campaign Execution Considerations As you move from understanding what gaps and lifecycle phases to address or experiences to initiate with the mobile web, taking it from concept to production should happen in a structured way. A marketer can have the best ideas, the most compelling value propositions and visual presentation, but if there is a “FAIL” experience anywhere along the way, you lose as a brand and your consumers are left hanging.

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Here are 7 things you should reflect upon (or actively test) before going into production: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Partner Selection: Not everyone can dance, but most will tell you they can. Setting Goals: How will you know you’ve won? Data Capture: Cash in and build your program. Clear Calls-To-Action: The “how” and the “what” to motivate. Testing: Connectors, users, experience and load. Post-Launch Monitoring: Making sure everything continues to work, for everyone, all the time. Customer Service: For you and your audience.

Partner Selection First, if you are traditionally a DIY (do-it-yourself) brand or an agency just getting into mobile, honestly assess your internal abilities. Who will do the work? This includes program strategy, navigation, copywriting, graphic design, and the deeper technological considerations involved in designing for the mobile web (i.e., optimized CSS, HTML5 vs. Flash, etc.), accounting for factors such as varying screen sizes and devices, as well as providing a gracefully degrading experience depending on device capabilities. If you have selected a partner or narrowed the list, ask them to demonstrate their understanding of the following core pre-launch, development, testing and monitoring practices. This should be something they come to you with when you ask adapted to your specific needs, and not something you provide to them. Partner selection is often a self-limiter or a growth enabler, depending on their experience and the data environment they cultivate to allow real-time analysis of your results. This analysis drives overarching solutions moving forward.

Goal Setting Setting appropriate goals is key. Simply ask yourself what is going to make this effort a success for you? How many clicks, opt-ins, site visits, video views, downloads, “good behaviors,” coupon redemptions, or physical world interactions will leave you better off than you were before undertaking this effort? With comparative information, a good partner should tell you if your goals are too lofty or, as is often the case, if you are shooting too low.

A good partner should tell you if your goals are too lofty or, as is often the case, if you are shooting too low.

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In many cases if you are new to the channel, ROI metrics should be monitored but may not be the primary focus. Very often, a lifetime value over 12 months is a reasonable window to begin judging how your campaigns are returning on a per-campaign basis. Other important and more actionable metrics are your CPA (Cost Per Action first, then Cost Per Acquisition). Naturally, in determining CPA and ROI goals, the consideration leads to discussions on how to collect data from mobile to tie back into a business case to justify continued or greater investment in the mobile web program or channel.

Data Capture

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A huge advantage of a properly designed and executed mobile web experience is the ability to create rich data capture environments. This can open up a much more comprehensive view of customers you may have been interacting with on numerous channels in the past, but that you were unable to connect to things like demographics and brand metrics. Easy-to-interact-with surveys, polls, and forms can give you information on gender, age, location, interests, intent, perception, likelihood-to-recommend and more. Exercise restraint, but don’t be afraid to ask for the details most valuable to your business. In many cases, purposeful mobile web destinations are visited repeatedly by those who find the experience useful and relevant. Create a dialogue where the language is a value-for-data exchange. Make sure the data is in a form that can be used for informing future interactions by your consumer. Here are some questions that should help you determine what data is most important to your brand: • What data matters most to us? Try to find data that can be normalized and used company-wide. • How will we track where people come from? Attribution can access the effectiveness of various media vehicles and calls-to-action. • How much will you track what they do once they are there? Common bounce points identify both poor design and an imbalance in the value exchange. • Where can you marry mobile web data with other data to gain a more comprehensive and actionable view of your consumer interactions? A total view of your multi-channel consumer today can inform your future mobile web decisions and deliver better results for consumers and your brand alike. • How does any personally identifiable information get handled and where is it stored? Secure collection, discreet handling and encrypted transmission are absolute must-haves to assure compliance with policies and consumer tolerances. Consider both data in motion and at rest, data purging strategies, and even questions that can infer a specific condition as high priority.

100% Crystal Clear Calls-To-Action Having a clear, specific call-to-action for each mobile web experience will allow you to deliver the most value while a consumer is there. Don’t confuse the user with too many requests. Make sure any copy or content is easily readable and aligned with your brand’s guidelines, your industry requirements, the MMA Consumer Best Practices and Code of Conduct. Your tolerance for risk will dictate how far these elements can deviate from these guidelines. A good partner should proactively provide guard rails for you to stay on the right track. Other considerations for experiences you present to consumers include age gating and verification, as well as terms and conditions associated with any contests, sweepstakes,

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or giveaways (also consider appropriate state filings, bonding and insurance, plus alternate methods of entry or interaction).

Testing: Connectors, Users, Experience and Load Connector Testing Whatever the right connector may be, make sure it works correctly and reliably. Most connectors on the market today are marketed as having most reach, as being most reliable, and easiest to scale. Just do the evaluation for yourself (or make sure your partner is doing it) every time. Some of the common pre-trouble shooting questions that can save your reputation:

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• If printed, is it readable? • If a 2D barcode, is it reliably scanned? If you’re using SMS as a connector consider other variables. A frequent accidental occurrence is a keyword miss-key or misspelling. Account for QWERTY keyboard “keys near other keys,” common misspellings, and unintended auto-corrections. Make sure your response dialog to unrecognized entries (i.e., incorrect inbound text messages that do not follow the keyword or pattern described in a call-toaction) gives an easy alternative action for extending the engagement. And even after your thorough, extensive testing, if you find yourself in market with a call-to-action that is generating a significant amount of unrecognized entries, make sure your partner can quickly modify the program to handle them correctly. Think completely through the last possible step in every experience, then provide an opportunity with every action to get right back on track.

User Testing As you get closer to launch dates and deadlines, get others involved who aren’t deep in the project (relatives can be great candidates) to test and report on some of the following: • Is there a definite flow and experience that meets your objectives? • Is the user’s brand experience met or enhanced with mobile in mind? • Is there a payoff in the form of entertainment, or useful/valuable information?

Experience Testing An easy way to QA is with behavior mapping. Conceive each contextual scenario you can reasonably imagine a consumer might possibly access your experience from, and replicate each action on a variety of handsets and various carriers. Test carriers and handsets in a real-world lab, as well as in an environment like DeviceAnywhere, which will allow you to replicate tests across numerous handsets, carriers, and other conditions. Don’t just test with the phone that every person in your office and social circle owns. Instead, test the lowest common denominator experience. Test the top 10 handsets, top 5 carriers and focus on geographies that are essential for the results and for the positive outcomes of your initiative.

If you’re using SMS as a connector, account for QWERTY keyboard “keys near other keys,” common misspellings, and unintended autocorrections.

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Prior to development, gain a better understanding of where mobile traffic may come from by consumer studies, email analysis of opens via mobile device and, of course, your current web analytics reports. You might be surprised to see where focus deserves to be. Ultimately, you should understand where issues may exist from an end-to-end perspective. Be aware that there are variances with how each carrier and device handles things like URL links, video, file sizes, and more.

Load Testing There should be a simulation or staging test protocol that your partner or your IT has built out to be able to handle traffic and activity as it scales when your mobile web deployment is live. Prior to launch, look for metrics and assurances of system reliability (SLAs for reported uptime and deliverability are two).

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Post-Launch Monitoring Your stewardship duties don’t end at production launch. There are a few things that you need to keep a scheduled, regular eye on. As previously mentioned, one of the big advantages to a mobile web destination is speed to market as you don’t need to have short code and program provisioning to consider. But this doesn’t mean you can take your eye off the ball. Like it or not, your consumers go through carriers to devour your mobile content. Occasionally there are policy or technical changes, outages, and bugs that can impact things such as video streaming, file downloads, and integrations with web services. Plan for the worst, even if it never happens.

Make sure that tracking and measurement, end-to-end, is in place and working properly pre-launch and monitored routinely post-launch. Similarly, that new OS update you were just pushed or notified of may have changed some things on a large percentage of your potential users’ handsets. This isn’t typically a huge concern, but a regular check of the top three or four device OS in your analytics-informed target pool won’t hurt either. Do this once a week, or when a new release is pushed. A big elephant in the room people are reluctant to discuss are campaigns that ran for weeks and months that didn’t capture any data because they weren’t set-up properly in the first place or because something changed mid-stream. Make sure that tracking and measurement, end-to-end, are in place and working properly pre-launch and monitored routinely post-launch. Do some routine checks on back-end systems; ideally have a log-in where you can view activity in real-time and run reports. If for some reason data isn’t available, press your partner for raw exports.

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Customer Service Placing the consumer at the center of the purposeful and relevant mobile web experience means your accessibility often will equate to trust. Don’t bury your customer service email, Twitter feeds, or direct phone numbers 10 pages deep and in tiny type. If your customer wants to use their mobile device to get in touch with you for any reason, make it a “win” experience for your brand. As a brand, if you are engaged with a partner in this initiative, they could become your front-line representatives. Make sure a few things are in place: • A defined SLA in place to triage customer service inquiries

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• An easy-to-find contact phone number, email, or other contact details • A support team (in house or through a provider partner) with program-specific standard responses to questions or an action plan for alternate contacts directly affiliated with brand

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Platform Technology Considerations Already in this white paper, a good deal of attention has been placed on the specific connector technologies (2D barcodes and SMS) that link consumers to a purposeful and relevant mobile web experience. The focus of this section is on the specific platform requirements needed to support the mobile web experiences themselves. Over the next five years, the mobile web will be an instrumental channel for brand engagement. As platform decisions are made to support the channel, it’s important that marketers have a working understanding of what’s required to deliver purposeful and relevant experiences, and make sure decisions are made in this context.

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Points to consider when exploring platform technology: 1. Device Recognition and Analytics: Can it deliver a consistently excellent experience on every device? 2. Platform Agility: Can the platform keep up with your pace of business and your budgets? 3. Universal Profile Management: Does it offer a holistic view of consumer interaction/behavioral data to drive better mobile web experiences? 4. Personalization and Relevance: Does the platform make it easy for non-technical personnel to define rules for personalization and targeting? 5. System Integration: Can the platform talk to my “wired web” website and other business systems? 6. Native Multi-Channel Support: If other direct digital channels are needed to complement mobile web initiatives, can the platform support them natively? 7. Embedded Measurement and Analytics: Does the platform provide out-of-the box analytics or you required to integrate with another vendor?

Device Recognition and Analytics The mobile web is a dynamic environment made up of different combinations of devices, operating systems (OS’s), and browsers. For the purposes of this white paper, our use of the term “device” includes all three. Any platform that doesn’t have device recognition and analytics embedded within the system should be quickly crossed off your consideration list. This is table stakes for the mobile web. The platform should update device information on a regular basis. In any platform, the device information should manifest itself in the following three ways: • Enable the configuration of device-optimized content and presentation • Allow for future segmentation and profile-level reporting by automatically associating device information to user/customer profiles • Include device information in all mobile web analytics for measurement and optimization. If a given platform is also powering other direct digital channels, such as email, it should be available there as well

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Any platform that doesn’t have device recognition and analytics embedded within the system should be quickly crossed off your consideration list.

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Platform Agility From a creation and production perspective, the world of the mobile web more closely parallels the campaign-centricity and speed-to-market nature that drives landing pages and microsites, more so than monolithic, 1000-page multi-purpose websites. Clearly there are very sophisticated web content management systems to handle the latter and they work quite well, but they weren’t built for the mobile web. In addition, the personnel and business processes around these systems are often more suitable for longer project cycles, not the “we need this in-market yesterday” pace that, for good or bad, permeates many marketing organizations. A good litmus test to determine platform agility is simply establishing how long it takes a non-technical user to create a simple device-optimized mobile web page. If a mobile web page can be set up in under an hour, you’re likely heading down the right path. If it takes longer, or if someone more technical is required for setting it up, there are better options out there. Keep in mind that even if you’re not accessing the platform directly, but instead using an agency partner, platform agility still matters to your budget and timeline. It could mean the difference of a mobile web experience costing you $5,000 versus $20,000 and taking 2 days instead of 2 weeks. More than likely, you’re not going to be creating just two of these a year – you’ll be creating many. That additional cost and time required can add up quickly.

A good litmus test to determine platform agility is simply establishing how long it takes a non-technical user to create a simple device-optimized mobile web page.

Universal Profile Management As you drive consumers to purposeful and relevant mobile web experiences, it’s critical that you capture as much data as possible about them along the way. Everything from referring information, site behavior, and stay length should be captured in a profile-centric manner that supports roll-up analytics as well as future segmentation and targeting. In addition to behavioral data, purchase activity, form submissions, survey and quick poll responses should be captured and related to profiles as well. The right platform will capture every interaction for both anonymous and known visitors and support the evolution from one to the other. If your mobile web

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initiatives do not have a solid data foundation – one that can also be tied into your enterprise marketing systems – it will quickly become a silo’d channel and its effectiveness will be diminished over time.

Personalization and Relevance Aside from API integration, the right platform will not require the ongoing involvement of high-powered technical resources. Non-technical marketing personnel should be able to leverage the platform’s underlying universal profile management system, using it to quickly and easily define rules for personalization and content targeting. Rule definition should be a point-and-click experience.

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System Integration There will likely be two primary points of system integration you’ll need to support more advanced purposeful and relevant mobile web experiences. First, you’ve likely made significant investments in other web assets for the wired web. As we’ve discussed previously, you don’t want to repurpose your wired web strategy, but you definitely want to leverage that investment in content wherever you can. The right platform will allow you to automatically consume content from external web sources and easily reformat it so it’s mobile-friendly. This can be a big time-saver if you want portions of your mobile web content to be updated automatically based on changes to a wired web site. The second point of integration pertains to back-end business systems. Any platform you choose should have a robust, modern web service API. With the mobile web, consumers have an affinity towards valueadded features and functionality (e.g. checking an account balance) versus simply informative content. A solid and easy-to-access API is a must to make feature delivery quick and economical.

Native Multi-Channel Support If your mobile web strategy relies heavily on SMS connectors (e.g., “text keyword for a link”), the platform you choose should also support SMS natively, not through a partner. Being able to capture all SMS and mobile web interactions and relate them to the same consumer profile allows for better reporting, richer segmentation, lower costs, and fewer moving parts when executing campaigns. In addition, the mobile phone number can be very effective as a unique ID to relate mobile web information back into marketing and customer databases.

Mobile and email are converging. Think about consolidating your mobile web, SMS and email onto a single platform – one capable of powering all three in a device-optimized manner. Also, mobile and email are converging. In many surveys, including our own Mobile Email Opens Report, reading email ranks as a top activity on mobile devices spanning almost all consumer demographics. If you happen to be a marketer where 20-30%+ of your email opens are coming from mobile devices, now might be a great time to think about consolidating your mobile web, SMS and email onto a single platform – one capable of powering all three in a device-optimized manner. If consumers are converging, you should as well.

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Embedded Measurement and Analytics Any platform you select should allow you to easily incorporate the tracking tags from your existing web analytics systems. However, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not concerned with dashboard reporting from your legacy environment, it can be a big time-saver if your mobile web platform has measurement and analytics built in. The built-in analytics should also offer insights on device usage metrics that may or may not be readily available, depending on your web analytics platform.

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In Conclusion In short order, the mobile device has rapidly become a most trusted companion and valuable tool for U.S. consumers. It transforms how people connect to information and experiences as they navigate through each day. With that, the mobile web offers an exceptional opportunity for initiating deeper relationships and more meaningful interaction with customers, offering powerful new ways to reach consumers at each stage of the customer lifecycle, extending the brand relationship. Harnessing the power of the mobile web begins with a purposeful, relevant approach that serves the needs of your customer (within the customer lifecycle, keeping point-of-access context in mind). It ends with providing a valuable experience, one with seamless execution. Whether implemented internally or by an agency partner, your mobile web strategy should be powered by an easy-to-use platform that captures key data, delivers relevant experiences over the mobile web and other channels, and leverages critical device information end-to-end, from content delivery through analytics. The right partner can be the difference between fast growth and bitter frustration, especially as your use of the mobile web expands. Choose to work with one who has demonstrative experience in the mobile web design and campaign execution, and if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be hosting your mobile web experiences. Make sure they have an understanding of core campaign practices within a data environment that allows real-time analysis of your results. Use the best practices and considerations outlined here to speed your success as you harness the power of the mobile web, initiating deeper brand engagement with a purposeful, relevant approach. The best time is now.

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About the Authors Dave Lawson, Director of Mobile Engagement Dave Lawson is the Director of Mobile Engagement at Knotice. A noted mobile marketing expert, Lawson has over a decade of experience working with top global brands to transform the way they communicate with their customers while working at leading media, proximity marketing, and mobile companies. Lawson creates and executes effective mobile strategies for an array of Fortune 2000 brands. A sought after mobile professional, Dave has been featured in several leading industry publications and is a frequent contributor to Knotice’s highly regarded blog, “The Lunch Pail.” Contact Dave at dlawson@knotice.com.

Bryce Marshall is the Director of Strategic Services at Knotice. Marshall is a nationally recognized mobile marketing expert. He has been featured in several leading marketing publications and national publications including USA Today, MarketingProfs, Read Write Web, Mobile Marketer, and Internet Retailer. Bryce is the author of the award-winning white paper, “Making Sense of Mobile Marketing,” and a frequent contributor to Knotice’s highly regarded blog, “The Lunch Pail.” Contact Bryce at bmarshall@ knotice.com.

Knotice (pronounced “notice”) maximizes the ROI of direct digital marketing – interactive marketing communications that can be addressed to a specific individual – through process automation, increased relevance and improved performance. Working with clients across many industries – including retail, hospitality, restaurants, cable and broadband, and many more – Knotice provides efficient, effective, and highly-targeted marketing communications through today’s direct digital channels of mobile, email and the Web. For more information about Knotice, visit http://www.knotice.com Call us toll-free at: 800.801.4194 Email: info@knotice.com Read more about direct digital marketing and mobile strategy on The Lunch Pail blog: http://lunchpail.knotice.com.

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Bryce Marshall, Director of Strategic Services