• by Julie Bernard , Columnist, March 22, 2017

Mobile Prodigies tell marketers they are constantly weighing the benefits of sharing their personal data — and that they will grant data-sharing approval when a brand or marketer serves them creative that matches or exceeds their expectations. 

But marketers take note: adding to that positive outcome, in our recent research — a survey of some 3,000 Millennials and Gen Z shoppers, coined Mobile Prodigies — these young consumers also told us they will withdraw their data permissions if and when mobile marketing’s creative offerings fail to hit the contextual mark. 

In short, relevance trumps all. 

To understand what relevance means to Mobile Prodigies and how to earn and keep their permissions, we can turn to deeper findings in the new data the survey uncovered — what it takes to win the trust of two generations around location data and personal information. All of this is key to tapping into the $400 billion-plus Mobile Prodigies stand to spend annually in now and future purchases.

Give and Take: Mobile Prodigies’ Dynamic Approach to Data Permissions

In our research, Mobile Prodigies bring new levels of nuance to the ongoing dynamic of data permissions. First, the parameters, as follow.

• More than half the polled Mobile Prodigies (56%) currently use — or plan to use — ad-blocking software.

• 82% of our respondents said they would delete an app if they perceived it to be asking for too much personal information, or the data-ask lacked sufficient explanation, or the information seemed irrelevant to the experience of the app. 

Responses like these, however, are only the beginning of the story. The power of relevance is so strong that, when Mobile Prodigies perceive it — when they engage with highly relevant apps and mobile creative — it can win them back, turning a no into a yes.

• 60% of Mobile Prodigies would agree, if presented with more relevant advertising, to one or more of the following: a) downloading a free app; b) connecting the app to their Facebook account; c) sharing location data; d) sharing fitness and sleep data.

• 1/3 of Mobile Prodigies said they would reverse their data-sharing stance from no to yes if doing so meant more relevant, personalized ads, experiences, and offers.

It is a powerful case to make: at a time when technology news so often raises the specter of  increasingly easy-to-use opt-out settings — with ways to block ads built into the very operating systems that drive mobile devices — Mobile Prodigies are in fact reminding us that meaningful creative makes memorable experiences, undoing the opt-out effect that intrusive and contextually blind ads otherwise create.

Best-in-Class Experiences: Keeping the Doors to Mobile Prodigies’ Data Open

The takeaway is this: if we serve Mobile Prodigies best-in-class mobile experiences, they are willing to share their personal information. Their data permissions come down to relevance and reward. When we eliminate unwanted disruptions from the mobile-creative space, and when we offer anticipatory, surprising, and delightful ads, then Mobile Prodigies give us permission to engage them in new ways. 

As they drive the app ecosystem — actively adding apps that feature innovative content and creative into nearly all the ways they work, play, and shop — and as they grant us access to their device data (when apps and creative experiences justify it), Mobile Prodigies are defining the future of mobile marketing. 

The road to that future is paved with all these elements, and Mobile Prodigies are telling the industry precisely where it should take them.