Embrace Mobile's Influence on Consumer Behavior

Minneapolis — Mobile has fundamentally changed consumer behavior and, as a result, marketing best practices, according to Michael Becker, managing partner and chief executive officer at San Francisco-based mobile marketing advisory firm mCordis. “When someone expresses a need through this device,” said Becker, holding an iPhone during a presentation at the Shopper Marketing Conference Expo in October, “or any number of the different types of devices they may have, you need to make sure that you’re there in a contextually relevant way.”Product placement in full-page interstitials, home-screen advertising and native advertising are just a few of the ways to reach consumers through mobile. Despite the method, however, “it’s critically important to recognize that you have to be doing these advertising models depending on your audience,” Becker stressed.Heineken USA’s 2014 campaign promoting its tequila-infused beer brand, Desperados, was a good example of what to do – and not do – to reach an intended audience, Becker said. Aimed at the coveted Millennial consumer, the brand had difficulties reaching its intended audience. “The retailers were saying, ‘Give me a multimillion-dollar media buy on TV and I’ll stock it on the shelves for you because that’s what my boss will see and ... I’ll trust that you’ll market it for me.’ And, guess what? Zero awareness,” Becker said. “It didn’t work. [Millennials are] not watching TV. That’s not where that consumer is.”After shifting its efforts over to native advertising, Desperados saw a 23% increase of awareness within three months, according to Becker. “Mobile has changed consumer behavior forever and we need to embrace that and when you’re thinking about that realize that it’s not about the technology … it’s about cultural practices,” he said.Becker explained mobile and digital has changed consumer expectations to want omnichannel, convenience, engagement, participation, experience, adventure and real-time dialogue. “Not real-time messaging, not real-time ads, not send me a coupon in my face. I want a dialogue.”Becker also challenged retailers and brands to be more than just a merchant and supplier. “How are you becoming not just a distributor of products or organization that has stuff on a showroom floor or on a website, but actually a platform and a publisher of services?” he said.Walgreens in 2014, for example, encouraged third-party developers to integrate the retailer’s Balance Rewards application program interface (API) into their apps through a contest awarding $13,000 in prizes. Through these integrations, Walgreens loyalty cardholders can earn points via their third-party health and wellness apps. GenieMD, HoMedics, LifeTrak, Lose It! and RunKeeper are among the apps that have already integrated the Balance Rewards API.Becker also cited The Happy Kitten Co.’s GranataPet “Check in! Snack out!” campaign in 2011 as a good example of merging the digital and physical world. Meant to attract pet owners walking their dogs, street-level billboards promoting the pet-food brand encouraged Foursquare users to check-in to the billboard to receive a free sample of the product in a bowl for their pet.“When you look at this path to purchase you have to realize that there is both this online and offline component and you need to manage that circadian rhythm as you engage and interact with that consumer throughout that journey,” Becker said.

Embrace Mobile's Influence on Consumer Behavior

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