• by Ari Brandt , Op-Ed Contributor, April 28, 2016

The latest ad industry buzz is all about how marketers can harness VR, AR, AI and the IoT to engage consumers.

I’m excited about the potential, too. But before we attempt to tackle the next hot platform that has yet to reach scale, let’s spend some more time mastering advertising on the platform with the largest amount of media consumption:mobile.

Mobile technology continues to make huge strides and has made interactive, on-demand media the new norm. Mobile data, in turn, has helped shape a platform with smarter, more personalized experiences than anything before it.

All of this has evolved in a matter of just a few years, yet advertising, an integral part of a successful mobile ecosystem, has been unable to keep up with the evolution of mobile technology.

Sure, mobile data – its breadth and depth – has become increasingly important to how marketers advertise today, and that’s not going away. Marketers are doing amazing things with mobile data, like serving ads based on not only demographics, and location, but also interests, behaviors, intent, app usage, and emotional state.But the data alone is not enough.

Even if advertisers are utilizing accurate data and reaching the right person — based on the ads I receive, they are not — they’re completely missing how to follow through with an ad experience that incorporates the unique attributes of mobile, especially in apps, where consumers are spending the majority of their time.

It’s high time for marketers to stop being complacent and redefine their approach to mobile advertising.

To do so, they have to rethink how they are delivering messages to users. No matter how great the creative is, targeting users and then using antiquated methods and products to deliver the ads just won’t work.

Once and for all, marketers need to stop using banners, interstitials and pre-roll, and embrace the unique attributes of the mobile platform instead. I’m far from the first person to point this out, but it bears repeating because those formats still represent 90% of what’s being served in mobile.

Banner ads and interstitials were terrible for desktops for the past 20 years and are 10 times worse on a screen as small and an experience as intimate as mobile. These executions are wasteful and only hurt brand loyalty.

Of course, raising the bar on mobile ad tech can’t just be reactive against those poor ad formats – it must incorporate the very best of mobile technology.

Technological potential is exciting; that’s why people are speculating about virtual reality.

Why not approach mobile the same way? Use sound when it’s not disruptive, haptics when it’s delightfully unexpected, and interactive technology as much as possible.

Marketers need to capitalize on touch screen more by harnessing tech like 3D touch and 360-degree video, as well as ergonomics and familiar gestures like swipe and pinch.

If advertisers want real change, they can lead the charge by embracing truly mobile-first ads that understand a user’s needs and adds value to an experience. Otherwise, users will never be receptive.

Ads must be optimized for mobile, and that doesn’t just mean making them smaller to fit physically onto the screen or inserting them in between content and calling them “native;” it means making them functional and contextualized in a more personal experience.

Marketers must explain why they are appearing and attempt to satisfy a need so users can engage on their terms.  Mobile apps drive more proactive engagement because of the way the content is built; highly responsive, interactive and achievement based.

In order to be successful, the same must be applied to mobile ads.

So before brands start to focus too much on IoT, VR, AR and AI, they need to take a fresh look at their approach to mobile advertising.

While content creators thrive on working with new technology – and great things come of their inspiration - advertisers still need to catch up with them on mobile.

How else will brands ever truly engage their audience?

It all starts with delivery in mobile, the most critical, missing advertising element on the most revolutionary consumer device of the 21st century.