Publicis Groupe agency
Digitas has teamed with Google to deliver mobile marketing insights and usage research, the companies said. The collaboration will "combine original Google and Digitas search and marketing data to
forecast trends, inform investment strategies, and drive the creation of mobile optimized Web sites," they stated.
The arrangment marks Google's latest effort to push research designed to
convince advertisers to up mobile spending. Just last month, the search giant released results of a
study commissioned from market research firm Ipsos OTX that showed smartphone users responding to mobile ads.
In announcing the Digitas collaboration, Jason Spero, director of Google Mobile
Ads, stated that consumers are ahead of advertisers in using mobile devices "to find, shop and buy." Working with Digitas, he said, should "help marketers embrace mobile and provide their customers
with a positive experience on this critical platform."
Few specifics on the collaboration were available, but Digitas global CEO Laura Lang was quoted as saying that the collaboration's
"collective mission is to take a bold step toward realizing the potential of mobile marketing in creative and surprising ways."
One Digitas client is Walgreens, whose shoppers count on
mobile for "information, access and service when they need it," according to Rich Lesperance, director of online marketing. "This is especially true for last-minute shopping around important
holidays like Mother's Day."
Here are the first results released from the new Google/Digitas collaboration, centered around Mother's Day observed on May 9:
- 33% of Google search
queries on the term "flowers" came from mobile devices
Mobile search queries for "flowers" on Mother's Day and the preceding week increased over 100% compared with the same
periods last year
In the week prior to Mother's Day, desktop searches for "flowers" increased from Monday to Friday and then declined on the weekend, while mobile queries steadily
increased all week and maxed out on the weekend. While this was deemed consistent with general mobile vs. desktop trends, mobile searches for "flowers" on the weekend were much higher than usual "as
last minute shoppers scrambled to find a bouquet for mom"
Google searches for "mother's day gifts" were relatively consistent across mobile and desktop.
Why? "Perhaps flowers were the last-minute purchase of choice for many Mother's Day shoppers."