More Mobile Marketing Food for Thought From South Africa
Posted by michael on Jun 24, 2008 in Mobile Marketing
I was fairly confident after my two recent pontifications about the booming business of mobile marketing in South Africa that several months would surely pass before another relevant news item would catch my attention from that part of the world.
I was wrong.
Eddie Groenewald, the CEO of a major mobile marketing company in Cape Town, South Africa released a white paper that is getting attention from mobile marketers around the world. The general message? Now that we know how to send messages through mobile marketing, let’s start concentrating the quality of the message.
At first I was blown away by both the simplicity and profundity of such an implication. But how true. We’ve been so dazzled by the bells and whistles of this new powerful advertising mechanism that the quality of the communication that can honestly make or break the effectiveness of a campaign is rarely if ever discussed.
Apart from offering a host of other campaign management ideas, Eddie really hit the nail on the head (and is likely turning heads in the process) by stressing the value of thoughtful communication when initially sending messages and responding to consumers.
To dig for other gems of wisdom originating from South Africa, check out this link to learn more from Eddie Groenewald.
Peter Levitan | Jun 24, 2008 | Reply
Couldn’t agree more.
But, this is already happening… As brand conscious companies (not just mobile tech companies) get involved in mobile marketing, the message is the medium (take that Marshall McLuhan.)
Here is an example of the technology getting ahead of the message flow. We are launching an SMS program for a very large retailer. They think that their in-house marketing group can manage and write the messaging. Oooops, I am very worried about long-term messaging.
What, when, how you say what you want to say is VERY important and isn’t just about how simple the tools are.
Geoff Dodd pi | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Yes, that is basically a ‘given’ or a critical requirement! Who wants to see the same happen with mobile phones (cellphones) as has happened with email spam on The Internet?! That sort of mindless clutter would make mobiles almost unusable in my opinion.
Eydie | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Been wanting to comment since your Africa post last week!
The thing about Africa is, consumers had been using SMS there years longer than in North America. It’s been great for the “common man”–say, a farmer who wants to find out the market prices for the type of produce he grows. It’s also been used as a form of banking/currency.
The downside is, SMS spam in Africa is way, way, way more prevalent than in North America (and I think more than in other global regions). So people there have been clamoring for best practices to be set in place–which would include the kinds of things you’ve been writing about, Michael.
Marketers in North America particularly need to watch what’s happening in Africa, as texting here becomes as common–and increasingly used for the same things–as it is there.