20/20 insights: mobile marketing predictions from 20 marketing leaders

20/20 INSIGHTS: 20 MOBILE MARKETING PREDICTIONS FROM 20 MARKETING LEADERS

DialogTech asked 20 influencers – marketers, product experts, analysts, and journalists – to share their vision of the future of mobile marketing. Scroll through to see their predictions, then join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #DT2020.

WILL MARTIN-GILL Chief Product Officer, Kenshoo

The mobile landscape is growing rapidly with no signs of slowing. New inventory sources regularly emerge, and marketers finding success are those who can edge out the competition and translate existing campaigns to these new mobile avenues.

Marketers will continue to be challenged by both mobile competition and scalability, needing the agility to adapt in a swiftly evolving space and quickly engage mobile audiences.

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Kenshoo data from Q3 2015 revealed that ad spend growth across both search and social was driven primarily by increased mobile investments, up 66% and 159% year-over-year respectively. Advertisers are upping mobile budgets and it's paying off too -- mobile now accounts for the majority of clicks on both search and social.

If we look at app installs in particular, there's a huge area of opportunity, ripe with eager consumers; the growth of app installs outpaced spend, increasing 346% since Q2 of 2014. Consumers are actively engaging and, as mobile optimization and measurement improve, the results it will yield will likely only increase from here.

What do you see as the future of mobile marketing?

Is there one stat you think is pertinent to the future of mobile marketing?

Real-time mobile marketing based on aggregated mobile, social, and location customer data. Customers are eager to share location data when it's "worth it" for them (e.g., personalized brand experiences). Marketers who can translate contextual data into valuable, differentiated brand experiences will win the handset…and the hearts of their customers.

TIM KOPP Former CMO, Exact Target | @TBKOPP

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Geofeedia reports 500 million monthly location-tagged social posts from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others. It's all about location.



Less marketing, more engagement. Less finding new customers all the time, and more understanding and serving the ones you do have – and empowering them to help you find new users just like them.

Almost 90% of mobile developers and publishers who implement a mobile engagement solution (like a Swrve, Kahuna, Appboy, LeanPlum, or FollowAnalytics) see major benefits: higher engagement, better retention, and increased revenue.

JOHN KOETSIER Mobile Economist, TUNE | @JOHNKOETSIER

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Mobile still represents just a fraction of overall marketing spend. Mary Meeker and the team at KPCB estimates it represented just 14% of total Internet traffic in 2014. But it's growing strongly (34% YOY) while desktop spending is decelerating (down 11% YOY).


One of the biggest challenges with mobile marketing lies in connecting the consumer path to purchase. The customer journey has grown twisted and tangled: About 65% of all revenue comes from multi-touch conversion paths, mostly from impressions across multiple channels.


NOREEN SEEBACHER Chief Editor, CMSWire | @WRITENOREEN

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MICHAEL BOLAND Chief Analyst & VP Content, BIA/Kelsey | @MIKEBOLAND

The future of mobile marketing will arrive when it breaks free of the desktop-born mindset that handicaps it. The fact that banners are a prevalent mobile ad format is testament to this, along with using clicks as a standard metric. We're seeing progress with things like native social ads and action buttons (map, call, reserve, order ahead, etc.). But mobile marketing’s true promise will be fulfilled when these strategies become the rule rather than the exception.

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After all the fuss over e-commerce, it only accounts for 4% of US consumer spending. The other 96% – about $7 trillion in products and services -- takes place offline. Mobile influences almost $2 trillion of that. So the opportunity isn’t about clicks and m-commerce. The bigger payout is in connecting the dots between mobile and offline action. It’s everything from Uber rides, to calling your lawyer, to ordering your coffee before you get to Starbucks.



Mobile marketing gets personal. Today's ad platforms already allow for targeting users by phone numbers and email addresses, and it's only a matter of time before more 1:1 methods emerge. Advertisers will push these to their limits and users will become increasingly aware of their exposure to customized marketing.

ANDREW MILLER Co-Founder, Workshop Digital | @ANDREWCMILLER

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Mobile CPCs are now at 71 cents on the dollar compared to CPCs on desktops. While still a relative bargain, clicks from mobile devices are quickly gaining parity with desktops. This does not bode well for marketers that have enjoyed lower CPCs on mobile devices but have not yet begun to test, optimize, and refine their mobile marketing funnels to improve conversion rates and keep their cost per conversion down.



I think there will be a huge opportunity to capitalize on wearable technology, such as the Apple Watch, in conjunction with proximity-based or local targeting on the B2C side. B2B will remain more challenging, but there is a huge opportunity to capitalize on customer service. Speaking to your customers where and when they want will play a pivotal role in ensuring you keep them happy.

70% of consumers feel using an SMS message is a good way for an organization to get their attention. This certainly suggests consumers are open to relevant messaging from mobile marketing.

SCOTT BRANDT CMO, Sprout Social | @SCOTTSHRUGGED

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The combination of location-based targeting with hyper-personalization will lead to greater relevance for consumers on a highly personal device (a win-win for both marketers and customers). Smart beacons, geo-location, geo-fencing, and more will reduce advertising clutter. We’ll instead see targeted offers that matter to the consumer at not just the right time, but also the right place.


It’s clear from the "digital natives" surveyed in my latest VB Insight study that personalized web and mobile experiences are now expected. 77% of those that have grown up using the Internet want you to use their personal data to provide customized, personalized messaging. Personalization goes way beyond calling people by name; consumers expect you to use location, age, gender, and other data to give them the most relevant, valuable experience. That's compelling and speaks to the future of both websites and apps as we head into the next generation.


STEWART ROGERS Director of Marketing Technology, VentureBeat | @THEREALSJR

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GREG STERLING Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land and VP of Strategy & Insights for the Local Search Association | @GSTERLING

Mobile and cross-device analytics will get better. In particular, closing the loop between digital ads and offline sales will become more effective and powerful. Retargeting will also go from offline to online as well, based on mobile user behavior in the real world. Indoor location and marketing (focused on smartphones) will continue to develop and start to become an effective way for retailers to boost sales and loyalty.

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In the US, comScore says that 49% of the audience for the top 100 digital media providers is now mobile-only.



To provide contextual value that consumers will be receptive to on mobile devices. Offers have to be relevant and worth the tradeoff of giving up personal data to consumers. Mobile marketing will exceed any other type of marketing when it has mastered the ability to provide contextual, relevant, and customer-focused value-added offers in real time – without being invasive.

NATALIE PETOUHOFF Vice President & Principal Analyst, Constellation Research | @DRNATALIE

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51% of time spent with digital media is via mobile devices. It’s growing, and fast. The opportunity of mobile use in marketing is huge, but it has to remain relevant, useful, and valuable to the receiver.



Audience data becoming more integrated across devices, and the marrying of cookies and device identifiers. Given the amount of time spent on smartphones, there will be a relative increase in advertising costs on mobile once high-value audiences can be identified between devices and usage times.

There are a lot of “1 in...” stats out there that underline mobile. For me, it’s more of the trend we’re seeing in the growth of mobile search queries vs. searches on traditional devices and how they are now equivalent, while CPCs continue to lag behind. As usage settles down, unless mobile search providers add more above-the-fold ad positions, mobile ad costs will begin to increase at a steep rate.

PHILIP MECIK Paid Search Director, Merkle Inc.

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The convergence of online and offline data and activities. Don’t be surprised when you have a retailer’s app on your smartphone, they automatically message you when you’re nearing them, and then recognize you as you’re walking in the door. With location awareness and predictive modeling, user experience will skyrocket and consumers will grow to appreciate that they’re being tracked rather than being concerned about it.


The average Millennial has watched an online video via mobile device, posted a message online via mobile device, and checked their mobile device 43 times in the last 24 hours.


DOUGLAS KARR Founder, The Marketing Technology Blog | @DOUGLASKARR

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DAVID LAU Group Director of Search and Social, Mindshare

In the near future (2-3 years out): death of cookie tracking, movement toward device/user tracking, and more immersive ads (branded content). We’ll also see an increase in one-step mobile experiences and e-commerce where Google and Facebook will have an advantage from a data collection (and monetization) standpoint, and Apple and Amazon will gain ground due to existing payment systems and overall user experience.

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Screen time on mobile devices. People currently spend about 3 hours per day in the US – and it's increasing. Marketers need to know what the consumer’s eyes are doing in order to reach them.



The "Holy Grail" for marketers has long been developing a unique identifier for a customer. Why not use their mobile number? Mobile phone numbers have become one of the few constants in people's lives, and are rarely changed. In the future I see these mobile numbers becoming the unique identifier we have all been looking for.

IRV SHAPIRO CEO & Founder, DialogTech | @IRVSHAPIRO

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As mobile advertising continues to explode, the number of phone calls into businesses is following suit. A click-to-call is the most natural conversion path on mobile. I anticipate that “Phone Through Rate” (PTR) – the percent of ad viewers that convert into a phone call -- will become a commonly measured statistic. Phone calls are a uniquely valuable indication of interest. When a prospect chooses to call instead of just view a web page or request information they are demonstrating significant urgency.



It’s about delivering a great mobile experience by optimizing all of your digital content for mobile. A big part of this will be using location data to serve up the exact right piece of content to someone based on where they are physically. And also using data to target a prospect with the right content at the right point in the sales cycle.

What we pay the most attention to today are open rates and click rates by device type for our email marketing. We also look at contacts we’re adding to our database through Twitter, which often come through mobile. This is simple stuff, but understanding how many people consume our content on mobile is the most important statistic for us today. I don’t see that changing much in the future.

NICK ROBERTSON VP of Product and Marketing, kCura | @_NICKROBERTSON

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Smart brands will use data and technology to deliver relevant content at scale. Mobile consumers expect brands to meet their needs with context-aware content, such as mobile wallet offers customized to time and place. Brands with multiple locations especially have an opportunity to tap into data (place, audience, weather, and more) to drive relevancy in customers’ moments of need.


Google "near me" searches have increased 34 times since 2011, and 80% of this traffic is coming from mobile devices. It's not enough for brands to be present when those near-me searches happen. Brands also need to encourage the "next moment” – or the action that occurs after a local search occurs. Brands can convert those near-me searches into revenue at scale by making their location data actionable and their content contextually relevant to mobile audiences.


TARI HARO CMO, SIM Partners | @TARIHARO

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ELAN MOSBACHER VP of Marketing, SpotHero | @MOSBACHER

Wearable tech, proximity-based advertising, and app indexing are some upcoming trends. Additionally, the way your phone interacts with your other devices, from controlling thermostats (e.g., Nest) to interacting with your car (e.g., Apple CarPlay). The phone will continue to become the remote control for your life.

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By 2020, smartphones and tablets will account for more than 75% of global online commercial transactions and more than 50% of spend.



The ability to target who you want, when they want it, and when they can share it. Time and location barriers will be erased. If you can set up the right content, in the right way, targeted toward the right audience, then mobile can provide higher engagement and sales conversions.

MARIA KATRIS CEO & Founder, Built In Chicago | @MARIAKATRIS

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The future of mobile is not just about mobile but a truly device-agnostic approach to the customer experience.

Little more than 11% of all websites are responsive as of 2015, but well over 50% of all website traffic now comes from mobile devices. We've got a long way to go.

MATT QUIRIE CEO & Founder, ROI-DNA | @AWESOMIZATION

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Native advertising holds the future for brands to deliver mobile experiences that match how their customers are consuming content. Winning brands will not be the ones with a "mobile strategy," but those that have a customer-centric digital strategy that speaks to customers differently across devices. Brands need to understand how to balance the needs of platform-optimized content, while layering in enough direct response techniques to drive revenue.


There are thousands of stats out there speaking to the growth in native ads, but eMarketer sums it up well with their growth projections: they predict native ad spend will double between 2015 and 2018.


DAN GOLDEN President and Chief Search Artist, Be Found Online | @THEGOLDENDAN

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What are your predictions for the future of mobile marketing? Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #DT2020.

For more insights and trends in multi-channel marketing visit DialogTech Insights, the research arm of DialogTech.