What Digital And Mobile Marketers Should Look For In 2011

by Joe Marchese, Dec 21, 2010, 4:30 PM

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It has been an enlightening year. While media spending has bounced back, especially in the digital space -- making the Internet the second largest advertising medium by spend (after television) -- digital marketing opportunities have seen a fair amount of shakeout and consolidation. So what will be around in 2011 for marketers looking to make an impact through digital channels? Mobile, for one, will likely get more complicated before it gets easier. Here are a couple things marketers should look out for in 2011 in digital and mobile.

A move from quantity to quality in digital - While 2010 saw more and more aggregation of massive impression volumes and complex data overlays, marketers' frustration with translating even billions of impressions into measurable results has started a trend toward quality of quantity, and specifically toward paying for engaged consumers.

Digital = Social - Say it with me: "All digital media IS social media." Digital and social strategies are not separate today, and more marketing offerings should incorporate social elements. What's more interaction with these social elements will be useful proxies for performance.

Mobile OS battles - The future of mobile has begun -- and mobile's story will be written over the course of 2011 as the mobile OS battles rage (Blackberry/RIM, Apple/iOS, Microsoft/Windows, Google/Droid). Keeping tabs on consumer adoption of various OS systems will be very important to marketers' mobile strategies. One common denominator, which may gain ground if the OS landscape remains fragmented, will be the mobile Web. This may mean that mobile Web development could offer the best cross-platform benefits for 2011, and should be explored.

Mobile as CRM/Loyalty - This year, like every year for the past 10, is commonly thought to be "the year mobile marketing takes off." I remain skeptical. However, there are particular areas where mobile has already started to gain traction, and will likely be marketers] "tip of the spear" into a mobile presence - such as leveraging mobile functionality to drive CRM and loyalty programs. Consumer check-ins and coupons offer mobile's best opportunities early in 2011.

What are you looking for in 2011? Drop me a line in the comments or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joemarchese

It's been a great year writing this column, and I'd like to wish everyone a happy holidays and a great new year. See you all in 2011!

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0 comments on "What Digital And Mobile Marketers Should Look For In 2011 ".

1. Andrew Koven from Steve Madden
   

   commented on: December 21, 2010 at 4:40 p.m.

   Great article!!!

   Andrew Koven
   Steve Madden, LTD

2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited
   

   commented on: December 21, 2010 at 5:34 p.m.

   It has been discussed in many articles here on MediaPost and no doubt many more are coming about the spending population older than 25, actually older than 50. The bigger the screen, the more apt will people use their smart phones for more than calls. Watching or using such a small screen for periods of time more a couple of minutes is called eye strain; it's not because it's not convenient. And convenience is the basis for mobile. Just my 2 pennies.

   As for you, Happiest of Holidays and looking forward to more MediaPost next year !!!

3. Frank C. Hudetz
   

   commented on: December 22, 2010 at 11:18 p.m.

   2011 will see explosive use of QR codes.

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