The TLDR version of this article? The secret to growing an app to 16m users is by focusing on the users.
It was not long after we  launched Wizz, a social discovery app where teens meet and connect with friends around the world, that we decided to ask our users to tell us about their best experience using the app. It was a simple way for us to start collecting their input and getting to know them, and we started receiving user feedback by the thousands.

Users shared anecdotes about how the app had affected their lives – things like overcoming social anxiety, finding new friends after moving to a new city, becoming more confident, feeling less lonely, and so on. They also shared things about the app that they really liked or didn’t like.

Users were not only willing to talk to us, they actually wanted to. They had a lot to say and wanted to be heard.

This realization has since inspired what has become a fairly radical and user-centric approach to growing the app and keeping users interested in coming back again and again.

Here are four takeaways from our journey to growing from 0 to 16m users, recently achieving 1.5m daily active users, and securing Wizz a spot as one of the App Store’s top 10 social networking apps.

1. Collaborate directly with users – they have a lot to say and love to be heard
It’s not enough to passively interact with users, say, by scouring social media and the internet to see what they’re saying about you. And things like sentiment scores are more like a thermometer than a clear sense of how they actually feel about you. Even looking at things like usage and behavioral trends doesn’t explain the “why” behind what users are doing.

So, we started working directly with our users. After seeing how much our users had to say in our initial survey, we introduced a number of ways to formalize our interactions with our audience of mostly teenagers.

One way we do this is by regularly  bringing in dozens of teenagers into the office, to understand how they think. What we’ve found is that 100 per cent of them share naturally when asked for feedback.

It’s important to note that we don’t only talk to current Wizz users; we also include people who have never heard of or used the app before. Our goal is to get their perspective on everything from Wizz’s features to their day-to-day lives, and where the app fits in (or might).

A lot of what we’ve learned from these conversations has directly influenced the app. One of the biggest takeaways that’s shaped Wizz’s community is the importance of having someone to talk to. For teenagers especially, having someone to consistently communicate with is essential. We’re currently exploring a number of different communication formats – from one-on-one chats to larger group chats–to match the different preferences users shared with us.

Imagine being in high school – but instead of social anxiety and self-doubt, users have a safe space to connect and build their social skills.

2. Get rid of features/functions that aren’t creating engagement
It’s easy to fall into the trap of adding new features into your app because they’re trending elsewhere. Or integrating as many features and functions as you can so there’s something for everyone in your app. But more features don’t necessarily lead to more engagement.

Our approach to new features and updates is exactly the opposite. We only want features in our app that drive engagement from our users. To accomplish this, we’re constantly testing new things from games, graphics, comments and video to small chats, big group chats, interfaces and monetization models.

We’ll start out by releasing a new feature to a small group of users. If this group reacts positively, we’ll go wider with it. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll quickly kill it.

With this approach, we’re ensuring that our app is built specifically for our users and the app experience they want, rather than one that’s based on the idea of downloads and daily active users alone. While a trending feature may result in a quick influx of downloads – if it’s not something that your core user base is engaging with, it won’t drive retention.

While it may seem like a radical approach to innovation, it has helped us to build and retain our 16m users.

3. Attract users by meeting them where they already are
The users that join – and stay – on our app are those that are seeking a community to develop new friendships and identify Wizz as the place to do just that.

That’s why we’ve focused on creating opportunities for Wizz to be found organically on the platforms where users already are. For example, we make it easy for users to download content they’ve created on Wizz – so they can post it to TikTok and other social profiles. This creates visibility for Wizz and can also allow users to develop new connections on the app.

We work with nano-influencers as part of this. We’ve found that users feel a greater connection to these type of influencers, because they’re like a friend with similar interests and hobbies, rather than an influencer with a large following that feels like an out-of-reach celebrity.

We also host in-person events so we can connect with existing and new users and they can discover the power of our community in real-life.

4. Contrary to popular opinion, content moderation and other safety measures can lead to more opportunities for self-expression
For any apps that foster a community where users are interacting with one another, determining what is and is not tolerable is arguably the most difficult task.

Because our user base is primarily 13-21 year olds, we’re particularly conscious of users’ emotional safety. We take an aggressive approach to content moderation and other safety measures, because we’d rather be more aggressive than not enough. While this approach is risky because it can mean some lost users upfront, it results in better retention in the long run.

On Wizz, content or comments that are bullying, humiliating, mean, insulting or include defamation, profanity or hate speech will result in temporary or permanent suspension. We don’t allow pictures, videos or comments that are violent, are against the law (such as drug use), or sexually-oriented. And we’ve banned any behaviours intended to harass or threaten users, as well as pretending to be someone else or lying about your age.

Verifying users’ age is especially critical because of our younger audience. We pair our teen users with people no more than one year younger or older than them. For instance, a 15-year-old can only interact with people between 14 and 16 years old. We go a step beyond simply asking users their age by using  facial age estimation technology, Yoti. Users take a selfie during the app onboarding process and the technology then compares their facial features to patterns across millions of images to determine with precision accuracy whether or not ‘this pattern is what 14-year olds (or whatever age) usually look like.’

We also work with AI moderation technologies, Besedo, and Sight Engine, which flag and disable offending content before it’s distributed. We’ve put all of these features in place so our users can feel safe and secure in expressing themselves and engaging with others on the app.

Wizz was built by taking many risks – and it’s resulted in a community that 16m users feel comfortable to connect and grow in. A big part of this was by making sure we had an app for our users, that was created in large part by our users and we continue to grow the app with them at the forefront of our innovation.

The post Four risks Wizz took to grow its app to 16m users – and why they keep coming back appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

As global smartphone penetration exceeds 2.5bn, the issues facing advertisers on mobile platforms continue to evolve – not least of all, the issue of ad blocking.

Marketers need to stop thinking of ad blocking as a roadblock in the customer journey. Rather, we should consider it a symptom of poor user experience, and users taking a stance against the way that advertisers are attempting to reach them.

Ad blocking has empowered users to decide that they no longer want to be bombarded with repetitive advertising and are screaming to advertisers to change the way they communicate to their audiences. Although mobile only accounts for a small percentage of the overall blocking rates (2.24 per cent on Android and 1.33 per cent on iOS, according to Clarity Ray), mobile blocking is on the up.

25 per cent of smartphone users are now making use of ad blocking apps and browsers, and that number keeps on rising 90 per cent year-over-year. Therefore, it is important to understand how to communicate with users across mobile platforms in order to keep them engaged and not get blocked out.

Mobile possesses limitless opportunity
It is critical to question why marketers choose to advertise on mobile versus other channels, and what makes users exhibit unique behaviors. Firstly, mobile devices are more personal than other channels since users have an emotional attachment to them. Other media, such as TV or desktop, are mostly shared devices between two or more people, or even an entire household. This makes addressability extremely difficult, and attachment to the channel insignificant.

This explains why TV ads are created to be more generic. With mobile, marketers have the power and luxury to access non-PII (Personally Identifiable Information) data to create a picture of who they truly are. From a single thumbprint on an iOS device, customers are able to send an email, or make a purchase with their credit card. Mobile is unique among channels not just because of personalisation, but also because of the low friction point in terms of conversion.

Compared to traditional forms of advertising that focus on awareness as their primary objective, most campaigns on mobile are transactional, such as advocating for the install of an app or purchases within an app or on a mobile website. With this in mind, is the goal on mobile just to push a single behavior? Clearly not.

Long-term behaviour is more important in terms of customer lifetime value in order to continue to create interactions with current and new customers. The big question and challenge that most marketers face is, how to go about creating the ongoing interaction with their brand and their customers?

The answer is simple. It all boils down to user experience.

Dont annoy your customers
Think of when you are watching live TV and the same two commercials have been on repeat during every single break for the past hour. What happens? You get annoyed and it creates a negative connotation towards not only that commercial but that brand.

Many would agree that this is a perfect example of bad user experience due to an aggressive advertising strategy. Now, think of a flashy pop-up ad that appears when you enter a website, or a flashy unappealing banner ad. These are the types of ads that users are trying to move away from.

It has been shown that 42 per cent of ad blocking users have found some ads to be interesting or helpful, but there are an overwhelming amount of ads being served. 51 per cent of ad blocking users claim that the reason they install an ad blocker is because of a few websites, in particular, that have annoying ads, leaving them with the conclusion that it is worth getting rid of advertisements all-together in order to avoid these situations. So, what is the point of investing in bad user experiences, when ultimately they cause ads to be less effective and have poorer outcomes?

Make them want to see your ad
The truth is, people love ads and brands when they are properly executed and addressable. Users understand that publishers need ad revenue to operate, and 68 per cent of users do not mind seeing ads – as long as they are not invasive or irritating. Consumers have always appreciated quality advertisements that have pulled a heartstring, made them laugh or provided them with a solution to a problem they have.

These type of ads make them feel as though the brand understands them and is working to create a two-way relationship. In return, marketers must go the extra-mile by creating personalized advertising that speaks directly to their target customer. That first involves understanding a customer’s preferences. How can marketers do this? With mobile technology, it has never been easier to find the data that you need from your customers, and, most importantly, you are able to understand their behavior.

The proof is out there — abrasive ads perform worse than those that are curated and properly targeted. Marketers need to get creative and start using advertising that adheres to UX best practices when creating mobile advertising strategies. By following this, marketers can create a sustainable user acquisition strategy that doesn’t leave users with no other choice but to adopt ad blockers.

Patrick Hopf is president and co-founder as SourceKnowledge

The post Ad Blocking Shouldnt be a Roadblock for Mobile Advertising appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

In 2016, we saw retailers begin to adapt to a changing retail landscape. Various brick-and-mortar retailers filed for bankruptcy while conversely, online retailers expanded into brick-and-mortar. This year, retailers sought a balance between going all in on physical retail or doubling down on eCommerce.

As the holiday shopping season comes to an end, retailers will begin to buckle down and look to the opportunities that lie ahead – so what can we expect from the evolving retail landscape in 2017?

Brick-and-mortar will revamp shopping experiences
In 2017, physical retailers will accelerate efforts to be competitive with eCommerce. They’ll certainly have taken note of industry-wide store closures: Macy’s, for example, announced it would close 15 percent of its retail stores – and it’s not the only one. Walmart, JC Penney, KMart, Sears and Kohl’s also made similar calls.

But the smart ones will know that store closures aren’t necessarily the death knell for physical retail. Instead, it’s about hitting that trifecta of maximizing your physical space, nailing digital and executing on a more effective mobile strategy. After all, Macy’s is still actively investing in their best-performing stores, even as they redirect dollars to digital.

Remember: eighty-three percent of surveyed consumers use their mobile devices while shopping. Physical retail must bring in what consumers enjoy the most about shopping online: convenience and personalization. It’s why we’re seeing more companies offer services such as fast shipping and free returns. But that won’t be enough to win.

In order be truly competitive, brick-and-mortar retailers must create more thrilling shopping experiences by focusing on providing customers with special deals, unique services, entertainment and more. Two-thirds of consumers surveyed said they like to go to stores because they can actually touch, see and hold the products before they buy. That clearly says the sensory experience of a store is a major advantage physical retailers hold over eCommerce. They should exploit it.

Retailers will get more creative on social
This year, we saw retailers boost their use of Facebook and other social media platforms. Next to family and friends, Facebook was the most popular way for consumers to find cool new products.

In 2017, look out for retailers to be more creative with Facebook and other social media platforms – anything from engaging with consumers with a more human and quirky tone or offering fun promotions you can only get through the platform.

Beacons will continue to be doomed
Beacons have struggled – the exception being Amazon’s app, which 25 per cent of consumers have on their home screens – and, much as I’d love to say otherwise, they will continue their downward trajectory.

Consumers have historically failed to adopt use cases that are hyper-granular from a location perspective. Moreover, beacons require an additional investment of time and effort, particularly with the requirement for manual adjustments every time a new promotion is available. Retailers should refocus on what they’ll get the most from: macro-level behavioral data, like how long a customer spends in the store or frequency of shopping, to shape their promotional approach.

2017 will be an interesting year for retailers – one where we will see brands land and expand. For example, businesses like Uber and Amazon established their credibility in core competencies and then expanded out from there. Physical retailers will borrow a leaf from this same playbook, thinking about novel ways to quickly get products into the hands of customers, and drumming up new in-store services that offer an unorthodox draw and a point of engagement with shoppers.

Brent Franson is CEO at Euclid Analytics

The post 2017 Predictions: Euclid Analytics appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Have you ever waited so long for an opportunity that when it arrives, you’re too stunned to seize it? Then you know exactly how marketers felt in 2016 when mobile finally took the display advertising crown, outpacing ad spend on desktop by an impressive £40m.

After years of anticipation, early advocates were vindicated, sceptics converted, and the industry gripped by the potential of a mobile-driven future. Yet planning for that future wasn’t easy; we knew the path ahead would be mobile but not what direction it would take. Now that the dust has settled, a clearer picture is emerging. Technological advances such as automated trading are bringing more efficiency and accuracy to mobile marketing, while the lure of swelling ad budgets is creating fresh challenges in the form of app-focused fraudsters. In the wake of mobile’s coronation, let’s take a closer look at the trends 2017 will bring.

Mobile will go programmatic
One of the many benefits of mobile is its reach – smartphone usage in the UK now tops 80 per cent –  so it’s no surprise that marketers are beginning to view programmatic as a means to leverage this with large-scale campaigns. Indeed, according to the IAB, over three-quarters of marketers consider automated trading on mobile to be a vital development. Yet the same research also found that only 27 per cent of marketers have bought ads programmatically.

In 2017, this will change as marketers start to understand the importance of integrating automation with current strategy. In particular, awareness of programmatic technology’s ability to capture all conversions will grow, helping marketers to see it as an essential tool not just for amplifying brand influence, but also increasing and tracking engagement.

App fraud awareness will grow
In the first flush of enthusiasm, many marketers have set aside their fears about mobile ad security – chiefly concerns about inventory quality – to focus on data points, such as user behaviour and geo-location, instead of vetting an app’s certification status before buying. Recent research into mobile app fraud, however, has uncovered fraudulent activity in just over half of uncertified apps.

So, the first priority for marketers should unquestionably be quality, or more specifically, avoiding uncertified app traffic. What’s more, the research also disproved the commonly held assumption that certified apps are always above board, with eight per cent of apps downloaded from official stores found to display malicious activity.

Over the next 12 months, buyers will take more precautions with in-app inventory, such as using metadata from app stores to execute secure buys and exclusively purchasing ad space within apps that are both certified and considered appropriate for all ages – an efficient way to protect against fraud and ensure ads only appear beside brand-safe content.

Precise attribution will be a necessity
With greater usage of an advertising medium comes heavier emphasis on ROI. So it follows that, as mobile adoption rises in 2017, marketers will be eager to enhance the accuracy of attribution — especially when it comes to making connections between online and offline activity, such as in-store purchases and mobile interactions.

According to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, 66 per cent of visits to UK retail sites during the festive season last year came from mobile. But, a Mintel study of the same period found that only eight per cent of shoppers decided to buy all of their presents online, compared to 18 per cent who bought all presents in store. This illustrates that the impact of mobile isn’t always obvious; although not used to make the final purchase, it is often the main driver behind it.

To ensure optimal budget allocation, marketers will increasingly demand technology that helps them understand the part each channel plays in a consumer’s individual journey. Only with a detailed view of the links between online conversations and real-world sales will they be able to establish which mobile strategies are worth continuing, and which aren’t.

Rich media will fuel tech efficiency
To drive conversions, mobile ads must do more than ignite audience interest; they must inspire consumers to interact with brands. As a result, ad types that drive high interaction rates, such as rich media – proven to generate 7.4 times more engagement than standard banners – are destined to be a major focus for mobile marketers in the year ahead, and are set to drive a mobile technology evolution.

At present, the abilities of mobile operating systems and delivery platforms are sufficient for standard display, but rich media ad formats, like video or audio, require a lot more tech muscle. Over the next 12 months there will be a wave of innovation as providers work to accommodate the appetite for rich media by improving download speeds and ad serving efficacy. Developments that will, in turn, produce more engaging mobile ads in 2017.

Having at last crowned mobile the king of marketing, the industry must look to the future. Any reigning format needs to be agile, secure, and efficient, which means in 2017 we can expect to see a shift towards more advanced programmatic delivery, stringent anti-fraud measures, accurate attribution and diverse ad types if mobile is to keep its throne.

Alex Rahaman is VP of programmatic for StrikeAd at Sizmek

The post 2017 Predictions: Sizmek appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

2016 was an amazing year for influencer marketing. Not even the changes in algorithms on various social platforms, FTC compliance crackdowns or questions over ROI stopped companies from jumping into the realm of working with influencers. But what will 2017 hold?

Influencers could save Twitter
Who will buy Twitter and save it from the death everyone has been talking about for years? So far there have been no takers, but Twitter has been making moves to attract influencers to the platform (for example, announcing a generous 70/30 revenue split back in August).

Twitter’s recent downturn might completely wipe the platform out from the influencer marketing platform race, but Twitter Moments feeds the curated news appetite of many audiences – and it remains a favorite platform of celebrities, politicians, and anyone with a passionate cause.

A Snapchat vs Instagram showdown
Which platform will ‘win’ for influencer marketing in 2017? Snapchat’s growth has been tremendous this year, but Instagram is a much easier platform to learn and navigate than Snap and its influencers are more established.

Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, recently bought FacioMetrics in what seems to be a move to go after Snap’s fan favorite filters. Facebook, a seasoned behemoth, knows a thing or two about audience growth, engagement and monetisation, is lending Instagram its years of experience, which should ensure its success.

TrackMaven recently analyzed over 51, Instagram posts and Instagram is leading the way for engagement over all social platforms at a rate of 70 interactions per thousand followers. Our testing of influencers on both platforms shows Instagram in the lead as well and they are aggressively attacking the social commerce of the platform, which is ideal for driving purchase. Our bet is on Instagram in the long run.

B2B influencers will make a bigger play
Influencer marketing has traditionally been used by consumer brands, but B2B companies will start to take advantage of it in 2017. The FTC will need to catch up to the B2B industry influencers and make them disclose their payments for conference speaking, free flights and hotel stays. in the same way it does for B2C.

These influencers can often demand a pretty penny for you to associate your brand with theirs and ultimately you end up promoting their brand instead of yours. That said, B2B influencers are great for networking and ideation. Leveraging their name and commentary can be a boon for sending traffic to your website, where you’ll have to see if the leads are valuable and convertible to sales.

Live streaming influencers will become mainstream.
Already influencers are flocking to live streaming. It’s much easier for an influencer to broadcast himself or herself on Facebook Live than to learn to shoot video and edit. But live streams make tracking compliance even more complicated for the FTC.

Disclosing sponsorships on live streaming should be no different than any other platform, but we can expect some bumps in the road in 2017. Influencers and brands are bound to run into trouble if they don’t stay true to the guidelines.

We still won’t reach a standard method of payment
The industry may never reach a standard method of payment for influencer campaigns, but will anything change in 2017? Doubtful. So, how do you put a price on someone’s influence, audience size, engagement or the quality of his or her content? Is Kim Kardashian worth the reported $300,000 per post she receives?

Regardless of the payment model, influencer companies should be taking on the risk and employ incentives to encourage influencers to work on behalf of brands in an honest and transparent way, as well as measure and motivate them to produce their best work.

Compliance will finally be taken seriously
2017 will be the year that brands stop working with non-compliant influencers, influencers stop working with non-compliance brands and agencies, and everyone accepts their own accountability for the FTC guidelines. This year saw several big brands get slapped with significant fines, but monitoring the hundreds of thousands of influencers and the proliferation of their content is a near-impossible task.

The risk to the industry is great, especially if advertisers and brands feel the industry is less than ethical, so it’s paramount that everyone from brands, digital agencies, PR firms and influencer marketing companies toe the line. And influencers need to obey the rules to help ensure their business.

Data will prove influencer marketing’s actual worth
With marketers becoming more accountable for ROI and sales, 2017 will be the year that data will show the strength of influencer marketing beyond the beauty of it being impervious to ad blocking or mere social engagements. But we will all need to meet somewhere in the middle.

Brands eager to understand influencer marketing’s impact on sales will need to be more willing to disclose POS data, for example. At the same time, influencer marketing companies will need to get a grip on a deeper understanding of the influencer’s audience or the potential of dark social’s impact on measurement.

Strategy will become critical for influencer marketing success
Celebrity influencers? Micro-influencers? Power middle influencers? When it comes down to it, there shouldn’t be a fight over which type is the best. Each can play a role a brand’s success, but it takes careful planning, setting clear objectives, mapping out a channel strategy, and aligning the right influencers.

Influencer marketing can be part of a content strategy, a social strategy, a PR strategy or audience growth strategy while helping to amplify everything from traditional advertising or in-store/online shopper marketing efforts.

Holly Pavlika is SVP of marketing and content at Collective Bias

The post 2017 Predictions: Collective Bias appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Advent of PSD2 heralds banking disruption
The implementation of PSD2 (Directive on Payment Services) effectively reduces the barrier of entry to new digital players. It will require banks to open up both PIS (Payment Initiation Services) and AIS (Account Information Services) to third parties, thereby allowing those players to compete with existing services in those fields currently offered by the banks.

As financial institutions work towards the development of this framework, new opportunities will be opened up for new service providers where, for example, applications for credit are made much more seamless and pain-free. The net result is likely to be significant disruption across the banking ecosystem, as a host of third party players – including retailers, telcos and vendors – seek to deepen their existing relationships with consumers with the addition of an array of financial products

Meanwhile, the framework will also demand enhanced focus on the security model, where specialists will be able to offer services to ensure that the risk of cybercriminal activity is reduced.

Blockchain deployments extend beyond financial industry
To date, most blockchain deployments have been limited to the financial sector, with exchanges and banks seeking to trial the technology as a means of increasing the speed, transparency and security in areas such as transaction settlement. However, we expect that 2017 will see a raft of proof-of-concepts to integrate the technology across a much wider array of applications, with logistics and identity management to the fore.

We also envisage that a number of national governments will instigate trials incorporating blockchain technology in a bid to automate manual processes which are time-consuming and expensive.

eSports hits the mainstream
eSports, the competitive playing of video games at a professional level, is set to hit the mainstream in 2017. Juniper forecasts that there will be over 190m unique viewers of eSports content next year across mobile and online channels.

The recent drive in coverage and growth has stemmed from the content delivery mechanisms available to both gamers and viewers alike. Platforms such as YouTube have enabled users to upload footage for free, with viewers accessing this media on demand.

New growth in eSports broadcasting is already underway: Ginx eSports TV recently launched on Sky in the UK, and follows the BBC’s steps last year to livestream the League of Legends European quarter-final, hosted at Wembley Stadium. And there is no shortage of investment, with prize pools running into the millions of dollars – the user-funded pool for DotA 2’s ‘The International’ this August, for example, approached $21m.

eSports viewers, similar to those in the traditional TV space, expect to access content when and where they desire, for example through OTT and VOD services. As such, it is crucial that broadcasters look at providing ‘snackable’ media and engaging content, perhaps also seeking to enterprise on the trend towards social eSports platforms.

Ultimately, broadcasters will be challenging major online platforms – most significantly, Twitch and YouTube. It is therefore more likely that live tournament media will be better suited to TV, with partnerships and content rights purchases required.

Streaming rights to eSports have not seen much in the way of development to date. The crucial issue here is quality and audience. The majority of tournaments are shown on Twitch simply because it is seen as providing the best quality environment in which to offer such media. DingIt, who had exclusive rights to StarCraft’s SSL tournament, faced significant backlash from fans after neglected to provide good quality content.

In terms of monetising such a rapidly expanding industry, the current online providers generally harness the use of subscription and advertising models, with the latter still not reaching its potential. Juniper believes that advertising spend on eSports is set to surge in 2017, reaching over $290m.

Windsor Holden is head of forecasting & consultancy, and Lauren Foye is research analyst, at Juniper Research

The post 2017 Predictions: Juniper Research appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The mobile phone is arguably the most important device that humanity has ever had access to. It’s our gateway to the digital world and has quickened the pace of democratised information. It blurs our perception of reality. It is a magic wand to activate our devices, and our own personal assistant. The smartphone has left many other items, like music players and calendars, redundant. Our wallets, keys, and even computers are probably next in line on the hit list.

Looking to the immediate mobile trends for 2017, though, you should expect to see the following:

Mobile will reduce the time spent with brands.
It was a previously held marketing truth that brands should maximise the time that their prospects and customers should be spending with them. But today we live in a world where time is increasingly the most precious resource we have. In cities, footsteps are quicker. We will abandon sites that take more than three seconds to load. The average human attention span (eight seconds) is now less than that of a goldfish (nine seconds).

Digital technology is changing our psychology rapidly. No longer are we content to wait for a branded story to unfold if it is standing between us and our chosen content. And for a nation of supposedly expert queuers, we Brits don’t want to stand in line. Supermarkets that offer shoppers the ability to scan their cheese on mobile and leave the store in minutes rather than heading to the checkout are going to be the stores that will win in the time economy. Shops that use beacons or NFC to provide product information, without waiting for a sales person that we may not want speak to anyway, will gain our love. And brands that allow us to ask questions to a chatbot without needing to sift through menus of options will be the ones that we will come back to.

Mobile moves to a zero-interface OS
This may seem a little counter-intuitive, given that mobiles traditionally need an operating system to work, but the tide is turning. We are heading to a world where operating systems don’t require an interface. This is down to the strides taken in speech recognition in 2016 and the smart products built on these systems, like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Voice command is speedier than tapping out words. But more than convenience, the personal touch that the power of the voice has justifies the high cost for this technology. (It’s probably worth noting that Alexa has apparently had over 250,000 marriage proposals.)

2017 will see much more functionality added to home systems like Alexa and Google Home and this will drive mass adoption. Next year should also see Google’s assistant enter the mainstream outside of the Pixel phone. Being an upgrade on Google Now and ‘OK Google,’ it will pull in users’ data, location and preferences to tailor suggestions helping them to navigate the world around them. We are beginning to outsource our thinking to the machines.

Mobile will mix up our reality
Augmented and Virtual Reality have long been on the hype cycle, with multiple VR systems being released to the masses in 2016: the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and finally PlayStation VR. To date, while VR has been a success in its ability to transport users to another world, it very much remains a novelty. Most content feels like a demo, lasting only a few minutes or lacking real depth.

2017 will change this. Developers are beginning to understand what makes a good virtual experience and will convince brands to start to plug more money into developing rich and immersive content. Vive is releasing a peripheral that makes the headsets wireless, Oculus is launching touch controllers to combat the Playstation’s gaming ecosystem and to allow users to interact with what they are seeing.

Augmented Reality, meanwhile, can transfer any surface, any packaging, into a storytelling platform. This will impact the whole customer journey, from showing people what purchases could look like in their homes, through to extending the conversation brands have with customers post purchase. The world post-Pokémon Go will never be the same again. Whilst VR has the ability to transport us to new spaces, AR transforms our everyday reality creating unique opportunities for brands to play in.

Scott Curtis is ?European mobile strategy & development director at Publicis Media

The post 2017 Predictions: Publicis Media appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

As 2016 draws to a close, it is time for brands to consider which technology trends will be big in the New Year and which they should be looking to implement. This will ensure that marketing teams will be able to engage with their customers via the right channels, whilst at the same time staying ahead of the competition.

The rise of VR
It was predicted that 2016 would be the year that Virtual Reality really took off, and the availability of technology has certainly gained pace without the full impact of VR hitting our homes, but we expect to see the technology get closer to the mainstream in 2017. In the next 12 months we’re likely to see VR and AR become more widely used marketing tools with many more people experiencing them.

Large brand names are already experimenting with this technology. Car giant Volvo has been using VR to allow potential customers to test drive its latest model by taking the driver on a scenic trip down country lanes. Luxury brands such as Ferrari are perhaps some of the best placed to take advantage of this technology, tapping in to the aspirational nature of their products to engage with new audiences that could be the customers of tomorrow.

This opportunity to experience something outside of the everyday has also been taken up by the fashion industry, with well-known designers such as Dior and Balenciaga using VR this year to give customers the chance to experience sitting on the oh-so-exclusive front row at Paris Fashion Week.

Personalised conversational interfaces
2016 saw Facebook launch chatbots on its Messenger app. The service allows businesses to communicate directly with their customers through the app using AI that is able to navigate the conversations, offering a unique and personalised experience. As a result, many brands are already experimenting with Messenger and linking it to adverts on social media platforms. Customers that click on a Facebook ad in their feed will be taken to a direct conversation with the brand in-app, improving the customer experience and allowing brands to learn even more about their target audience – if combined with efficient data analysis.

In 2017, we’ll see a lot of the tasks we currently perform manually become increasingly automated through conversational interfaces. Setting alarms, changing the heating and ordering a pizza with voice commands will all soon be the norm.

AI has already made its way into the consumer’s home in the form of gadgets such as Amazon Echo. Amazon has started to link up with major brands such as Domino’s Pizza and Hive to offer the customer a complete user experience where customers can order make orders or control appliances in the house by talking directly to Alexa, the AI assistant powering the Echo. These are still mostly command-based and the learning elements are in their infancy, but it won’t be long before the devices in your house have worked out your living patterns.

We often focus on the frivolous elements of these technologies, but these also have huge potential for home security or making contact in cases of fire or medical emergency. Soon your home will know if something unusual is happening, which could literally be a lifesaver.

Many marketers are considering how they can use speech-based interfaces like these to offer a highly personalised customer service as the technology continues to develop in 2017.

Personalisation is the new black
Personalisation is definitely the buzzword in marketing this year, with many marketing companies now aiming to create personalised content and adverts to engage with their target audience – and this won’t change in 2017. In the digital world where consumers often feel bombarded by content and information, offering unique and personalised services in this way will help brands stand out from the competition.

As brands look to individualise their products by including customers’ names on Coca Cola, Nutella or Marmite packaging, mass customisation has turned personal. For some businesses, this will mean ensuring all touch points on the customer journey are specific and individual. For others, it will simply mean streamlining the purchasing process in order to make it more responsive, therefore creating an easier experience for the customer.

2016 has seen technology change the marketing landscape forever and 2017 is shaping up to be another exciting year where technologies we’ve seen for a few years become mainstream. Brands must therefore ensure that their marketing strategies remain agile in order to make the most of the opportunities that technology offers. To be truly successful, however, businesses need to remain true to their core values and not simply use the technology for the sake of it.

A great story, a strong brand and shared passion with your target audience remain more important than any trend. The next 12 months will be an exciting and crucial period for marketing professionals as more and more brands begin to experiment telling their story with new platforms to increase customer engagement and stay ahead of the competition.

Jim Bowes is CEO and co-founder of Manifesto

The post 2017 Predictions: Manifesto appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

For advertisers, 2016 has been a challenging year. as the realisation sets in that they need be more innovative than ever to deliver the ads users actually want to view and, ultimately, not block. After a decade of claims of the year of mobile, with the industry now determined to create a more meaningful user experience and thus reduce the need for ad blocking, perhaps the description for 2017 should be “the year of transformation of mobile advertising”.

The rise of mobile ad blocking
Recent reports suggest that mobile ad blocking has increased by a staggering 90 per cent since 2015, with one in five smartphone users installing software to eliminate or at least reduce unwanted ads. Furthermore, while mobile traffic is half that of desktop, mobile sites are currently blocked at three times the rate of desktop sites. Adoption of mobile ad blocking is currently greatest among emerging markets such as China, Indonesia, and Pakistan, although it will not be long before these levels are matched in the UK and the rest of Europe, especially as built-in ad blocking software becomes a standard feature of mobile browsers.

For too long, advertisers have been so preoccupied with the scope and sophistication of their digital campaigns that they have begun to lose sight of the consumers they are seeking to engage. As a result, internet service providers have started to intervene. In June 2016, global telecommunications provider Three implemented a network-level trial – for users who opted in – which blocked all ads on mobile websites and in-app for a 24-hour period. In addition, Google banned one of the industry’s long-established staple ad formats: the interstitial, which appears on-screen while the user waits for their chosen website to load.

If soaring ad block rates and industry intervention prove anything, it is that the need for personalised, creative campaigns that harness data insights and listen to users has never been greater. Meanwhile, publishers are concerned that a rise in ad blocking technology will undermine their traditional advertising-funded business model. However, if the dilemma remains unaddressed, mobile ad blocking could pose a serious threat to the media industry. So how can brands strike a happy medium to keep both publishers and consumers happy?

The transformation of mobile advertising
Before advertisers can address the way in which they interact with their audience, they must first consider the reasons for ad blocking. For some users, the content being served is simply irrelevant or dull. However, rich-media ads, especially autoplay ads which have prolonged loading times and take up significant amounts of bandwidth, are effectively robbing the user of both time and data costs.

At best a user will block that ad and forget about the brand; at worst they will become frustrated and develop ill feeling towards the brand and everything it represents. According to one study, 47 per cent agreed their mobile advertising experience was positive, and 39 per cent cited a negative experience due to irritating ad formats.

But the challenges that face advertisers do not need to be destructive and these testing times will only serve to bring about a positive change for the mobile advertising industry. We now need to work on improving these figures to ensure the majority of consumers enjoy their mobile browsing experience.

Immersive technologies
In 2017, the main aim will be to prevent ad blocking from gaining further traction, as we see the adoption of new, immersive yet unobtrusive ad formats. One such strategy will be to include parallex effects – these ensure banners are better integrated into the publisher content and propose a more aesthetic solution to consumers.

The user also has the option to view a full-screen brand panel for the ad, but only if the initial banner has piqued their interest. These new formats will ensure quicker-loading, cleaner-looking webpages which will improve the user experience and, therefore, the brand/consumer relationship.

Following industry standards
We will also see more marketers embracing industry-wide initiatives such as the IAB’s LEAN principles (Light, Encrypted, Ad choice supported, Non-invasive ads) to ensure ads provide a harmonious, non-disruptive mobile browsing experience. In addition, the IAB’s revised guidelines, which incorporate the LEAN principles and will be finalised by the end of 2016, will encourage more advertisers to completely rethink the formats they use.

The rise of mobile ad blocking has made the industry far more conscious of the needs of the consumer. It is now time for advertisers to step up to the challenges they face, put consumers at the heart of their campaigns, and make sure that 2017 is the year of transformation of mobile advertising.

Lisa Menaldo is managing director UK at Sublime Skinz

The post 2017 Predictions: Sublime Skinz appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

From a marketing perspective, one of the most interesting trends of the year just gone is the growing consumer shift toward mobile social messaging apps. We are seeing a move away from the public forums of social networks to the private and intimate communication channels of instant messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Kik, Slack, and Snapchat.

As we head into 2017, marketers will need to increasingly consider how they can engage their target audiences in these popular mobile platforms through conversational marketing, alongside their other direct-to-customer CRM channels like SMS, email, and social media.

Chatbots have become a key way to integrate with these app platforms and establish a customer dialogue. Since Facebook launched its chatbot functionality as a part of Messenger for Business early in 2016, the buzz around chatbots has exploded.

Chatbots enable businesses, large and small, to establish an automated conversation with people to answer questions, make suggestions and deliver content that can help build loyalty, upsell and cross-sell – an opportunity being referred to as ‘conversational commerce’. If mobile marketers take advantage of this emerging communication channel, they will be well positioned to form a closer connection with consumers.

Establishing a brand or business dialogue within mobile social messaging platforms will require new approaches, practices and skillsets. For anyone responsible for CRM and social media management, it’s going to add an extra level of complexity. This is the closest a business can get to personalised, synchronous communication with individuals at scale, anywhere, any time.

Conversational marketing will require thinking through all the permutations of a potential conversation with a customer, and the data analysis to understand the needs and requirements of different audiences. Businesses need to decide the level of automation or real human intervention to maintain a realistic and valuable dialogue. This will require the necessary tech resource working closely with Facebook to understand the boundaries of what is feasible.

As leading brands and businesses increase their presence within social messaging apps, marketers will also need to consider how to integrate branded chat environments into their current marketing strategies. Conversational marketing will present marketers with an opportunity to share their brand story directly with their audience, increase loyal customer engagement, enhance the customer service experience and ultimately get more people to come back to the business again and again. This might be particularly useful for online and offline retailers, regular service providers and content distributors.

But beware: if marketers do decide to open up to customer chat through these new direct channels, they should be sure to meet expectations of a useful conversation with the customer at the other end of the smartphone. A delayed or unsatisfactory response to incoming queries will be a turn off to the mobile-first consumer.

Looking further ahead, chatbots are a precursor to AI, the next step of data analytics and aggregation, going beyond consumer behaviour targeting to consumer behaviour predicting. AI is at the forefront of Google’s current agenda, as it predicts a move from mobile-first to AI-first. For marketers, this means a deeper level of understanding that helps companies make better predictions and serve customers what they need in advance.

Another precursor to AI is virtual assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant and Microsoft Cortana. Consumers are already comfortable googling recipes for lasagne and are satisfied with the results Google throws up. This two-way dialogue is already happening, and voice search is a natural evolution of this conversation. Voice recognition is becoming more accurate and responsive, and now materialising in hardware extensions such as Amazon Echo and Google Home.

Consumers ask questions in voice search, and virtual assistants offer back answers to these specific questions. For SEO purposes, keywords will need to evolve to include not just search terms, but natural responses to questions. To encourage Echo to direct a consumer to a Thai Restaurant, keywords might no longer be ‘Thai’, ‘food’, ‘restaurant’ or ‘London’, but responses to questions, such as ‘Thai Kingdom is open until 11pm and is the top-rated Thai restaurant in London’. Marketers will need to shift their focus from reading and writing to speaking and listening, starting by saying aloud the conversational marketing content they write up to ensure it sounds like a natural conversational response, instead of just reading well.

The evolution from chatbots and virtual assistants into AI, and the opportunity for conversational marketing and commerce for marketers, should not be underestimated. Conversational marketing is likely not just a 2017 trend, but a 2018 and 2019 trend as well. It may well be the beginning of the future of marketing.

Julian Smith is head of strategy and innovation at Fetch

The post 2017 Predictions: Fetch appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.