Last week, Phunware sponsored and attended Mobile Ventures Summit in San Francisco.
The day was packed with interesting conversation on where mobile is today and where customers and consumers expect brands to be with mobile in the near future. It came through loud and clear that mobile is where users spend their time, and brands are rethinking how they can meet them there.
Marketing’s Changing Role
When event chair Dirk Rients interviewed Chris Curtin, Chief Brand & Innovation Marketing Officer at Visa, Curtin said that “it’s marketing’s job to age down a company. Marketing has to believe they are on a mission.” That’s the secret to keeping a 51-year-old company like Visa innovative. In fact, as mobile and other screens increase in importance, so does Marketing: “If Marketing is part of the DNA of a company versus just considered the art department, the company is set up for success,” said Curtin.
At Visa, Marketing is driving the company to focus on delivering a universally engaging experience to customers across devices—from car to watch to smartphone and beyond. Similarly, Kohl’s EVP of Digital Technology Ratnakar Lavu said that customers are touching and converting at all channels. His goal is to create a consistent, engaging experience for them no matter where they interact with his brand.
In short, it’s a brand’s job to create a mobile experience that makes mobile engagement even easier and gives users a reason to reach out connect. Kerem Tomak, Chief Analytics Officer at Sears Holding Corporation, said that apps are an ideal vehicle for drawing users to your brand, versus your brand pushing messages at them. This is the essence of customer-focused marketing—which is what marketing in 2016 is all about.
Retail Mobile Marketing in 2016
No industry is a better example of mobile marketing innovation than retail, and Mobile Ventures Summit had a panel to prove it. Executives from Gap, Kohl’s, Sears Holdings Corporation and more agreed that in today’s rich digital world, your mobile strategy has to be ALL IN—or don’t bother. Gap’s VP of Digital Marketing, Caroline Sheu, remarked that mobile is not about creating parity with your brand’s web or mobile web experience. Aiming for that will not set you up for success.
That’s because—as all panelists agreed—mobile apps are for your brand’s best, most engaged customers. One panelist remarked that his brand receives 2x value and 4x conversion through mobile apps. That’s not because mobile apps have some magical power to convert, but because the users who take the time to seek out and download a brand’s app are going to be more interested and engaged from the outset.
Creating a Mobile-First Strategy
We wrapped our day at Mobile Ventures Summit with a panel called “Creating a Mobile-First Strategy.” Phunware’s own Media & Entertainment leader Jeremy Kidd moderated the panel, whose members were diverse but aligned on many ideas.
Executives from AB InBev, ESPN and others took the discussion of meeting users where they are to a whole new level. AB InBev’s Director of Digital Innovation & Strategy, Michael Raspatello, remarked that engaging audiences where they already exist is a much more profitable strategy than trying to force engagement elsewhere. Sometimes that might mean engaging your brand’s users in a different app—and that’s okay! The real challenge is determining which approach will be most effective for your brand.
As you can see, lots of interesting content was shared by people who live the mobile marketing challenge every day. Mobile Ventures Summit will take place in a few more cities this year. Be sure to save the date for a city near you!
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