Does your holiday marketing campaign feature on mobile?

To keep pace with consumers, retailers and brands need to focus on media platforms already used by consumers in the purchase process. According to Think with Google, 46% of consumers conduct research on their mobile before arriving, or once at the mall.

Think about your own shopping patterns. And then think about those shopping patterns when you're on holiday... I'm willing to bet upwards of 70% of you turn to your mobile device for shopper assistance. I'm also sure this number gets close to 100% when you're on holiday, away from your traditional media platforms and in unfamiliar areas.There's no doubt that the mobile device is the preferred search and research method for consumers - and its here that brands and retailers need to play.

If marketers can then use 'real' location targeting to increase the relevance of their mobile communication then they're onto a winning combination:

Consumer in "buy mode" browsing the mobile net/app + relevant location offer = sales.

A study conducted by xAd in partnership with Nielsen, revealed that 83 percent of mobile users are more likely to engage with advertising relevant to their current search needs and their expectations of close proximity.

Vicinity Media, Africa's first true location-based mobile ad network, has real campaign results to back up these studies. Vicinity recently ran a campaign for a popular high-end vehicle across it's high-end publisher partners. The campaign targeted users within a 4km radius of the vehicle showroom. Vicinity then layered market intelligence that concluded that most high end vehicle test drives happen between Thursday - Saturday and at specific times of day. This targeting, combined with best of breed 'true' location saw the campaign hit a 6% CTR over a targeted 24 hour period.

The facts are clear:

1. Consumers are turning to mobile as their new search and research tool. The mobile is the modern day "shopper's assistant". This is especially true during the holidays when consumers are in 'buy mode' and in unfamiliar areas.
   
2. Brands that use mobile with true location targeting as well as strategic use of time, day and demographic data are seeing industry leading results.
   

By communicating to consumers on their trusted "shopping assistant" or phone, brands and retailers entrench themselves in the purchase decision-making process and ultimately drive consumers to the closest store.

Location-based mobile advertising is highly effective given its innate ability to link digital marketing to real-world commerce, effectively removing the distance between awareness, research and purchase - in minutes.

Its not too late to take advantage of location-based mobile advertising this holiday season, contact moc.aidem-ytiniciv@lien and get your brand on the Christmas and back to school shopping lists.