Mobile Advertising: A European Perspective

This chapter is based on research conducted in cooperation with 12Snap, the leading European mobile marketing company, which has implemented large-scale mobile advertising campaigns with companies such as McDonald’s, Nestlé, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Sony. To set the overall stage, we first discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the mobile phone in comparison to other marketing media. Then we propose a framework of different types of advertising campaigns that can be supported through the usage of mobile devices. These campaign types include (1) mobile push campaigns, (2) mobile pull campaigns, and (3) mobile dialogue campaigns. Building on this framework, we analyze different campaigns that 12Snap implemented for different consumer goods and media companies. Drawing from these experiences we then discuss a number of key management issues that need to be considered when implementing mobile marketing campaigns. They include the following themes: (1) the choice of campaign type, (2) the design of a campaign, (3) the targeting of the youth market, and (4) the combination of different media types to create integrated campaigns.