22 January 2014

Mobile Marketing Budgets

Mobile Marketing Budgets
Marketers currently allocate less than one percent or none of their marketing budget to Mobile advertising in Sri Lanka. However, with over one million smart phones and over twenty million mobile phones in Sri Lanka, return on investment (ROI) analysis of Mobile, shows that the optimised level of spend in Mobile advertising for Sri Lanka marketers is well below average.
Over the next 4 years, Mobile’s share of the media mix is projected to increase to over 10 percent based on growth in adoption of smartphones only. It is safe to say, however, that the growth does not stop there. As with all new media, more effective targeting, creative excellence, better ad units, tighter industry standards, innovation in technology and other factors will all contribute to increased spend and the further establishment of mobile in a marketer’s mix.
Spend on Mobile varies based on the marketing goal and industry category. Regardless of these variances, it’s clear that marketers are spending significantly less than they should in Mobile and by settling for a sub-optimal media mix are losing out on sales and profits.
Consumer media habits are rapidly changing – the penetration of mobile smartphones has skyrocketed and it is clear that Mobile has proven to be effective in successfully achieving a variety of marketing goals. Even though these facts are indisputable, marketers have been slow to adjust and rebalance their media mix to reflect consumers’ mobile-centric world. In fact, it is appropriate to assert at this time that most marketers should significantly increase their investment in Mobile advertising.
Mobile advertising (display, video, audio) should be at least a one billion-rupee market in Sri Lanka. Global trends in Asia show marketers now allocating as much as 5% of their marketing budgets on mobile. In sophisticated markets, it is as much as 10% globally.
Dhammika Dharmawardhane