| It's time for WAP to stand tall and proud |
| Tuesday, 12 July 2005 | |
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style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal">NMA - Last week I read with a sense of relief the positive review of Big Brother 6’s WAP site. During the 5 years I have spent in the world of mobile I would have to confess that on a number of occasions I have crossed my fingers behind my back and insisted that WAP was the ‘next big thing’. At last I believe that I can cast off my sheepskin coat and extol the benefits of WAP without fearing a sudden lightening bolt from above. By Dave Barker of Enpocket. Most notably the front page of the same NMA was filled with the news that not only are Pepsi executing a communications strategy based around WAP but that they have created a ‘global mobile strategy’.Finally, acknowledgement of mobile as not only an integral, but valuable part of the marketing mix. With mobile phones never further than a few feet from their owners, the opportunity to reach consumers is so powerful as to be intimidating. Talk of owning this last piece of ‘real estate’ may be an exaggeration. But the opportunity to deliver a consistent message, drive awareness through entertaining and educating and offer real value to the consumer is not. This is reflected in the increased interest from brand owners that we are seeing. Suddenly it seems creating a WAP site might not be such a crazy idea. Mobile as a direct response channel, to enhance fulfilment or deliver smart data is a reality. Having urged your target consumer to buy their holiday from you why not help them by pushing them the latest hotel offers, weather information and ‘What’s On’ via WAP. Push them an M-coupon to redeem on the website or capture their data to send them a brochure. What requires constant thought is avoiding the temptation to simply replicate rather than integrate with other channels. In asking a consumer to engage with you via their mobile a brand should be prepared to offer content and value that utilises all the advantages of immediacy and simplicity afforded by mobile. Mobile works because consumers can engage with you, receive rewards from you, redeem rewards from you and continue to talk with you long after the TV has been turned off and the billboard has been pasted over. Annabell Shorter Business Development Director, Flytxt © Copyright Flytxt Ltd 2006. Unauthorized use of any content constitutes a material breach. |
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