The Mobile Essentials of Marketing & Monetizing CPG Apps

By Amy Vale

At this year’s Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus, hosted by Mobile Marketer, Kraft made a definitive statement about their mobile plans. The CPG brand, soon to be renamed Mondalez, will move 10 percent of its media budgets to mobile. While that’s a big move for a brand that’s become a household name among millions of consumers worldwide, there’s still a lot of mobile learning that needs to take place. Here are two mobile essentials that will help developers market and monetize their CPG apps.

Immerse with creative

For many consumers, mobile acts as a natural extension of the traditional TV experience. Smartphones and tablets aren’t used at one single point in the day. They’re used morning, noon and night repeatedly; they support long-form media content; they often complement other media consumption via TV, print and online. To effectively monetize CPG apps, it will come down to creating a rich, immersive user experience that’s both entertaining and informational. One way to create this ‘entertaining’ effect is mobile video. 

Recent research from Nielsen found that mobile video ads for CPG brands generated a significantly higher level of awareness, favorability and purchase interest on mobile, compared to TV and online video. The engagement and ROI potential is clearly there; so app developers should partner with rich media providers to ensure integrations are seamless for their advertisers’ creative executions to be delivered to mobile users. CPG app users will be far more receptive to see, and act on, ads when they are packaged creatively in rich media formats like expandable banner ads, in-banner video, etc. 

Follow your audience 

Just as with any smart mobile strategy, it’s important to identify your audience, their primary devices, the type of content (and ads) that will gain their attention and where they’re using their mobile devices. Then follow your audience using targeted ads. 

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, a growing number of U.S. food makers are using mobile games to entertain, engage and ultimately, sell their products to kids on smartphones and tablets. As can be seen in Mojiva’s recent Parenting MAG, parents are increasingly becoming reliant on their smartphones and tablets to entertain their kids. In fact, 56 percent of parents reported giving their mobile devices to their kids for entertainment purposes at least once a day and 57 percent have previously downloaded or added an application or web page on their mobile device for their child to use. The lesson for developers is pretty simple - the best mobile gaming experience possible will inevitably bring users back to the app, repeatedly. The more frequently these users get comfortable with and use the mobile gaming app (and share it across their social network), the more likely they’ll be to make in-app purchases.

No matter what monetization route you follow, be sure to partner with an advertising network that has strong reach and scalability across multiple platforms to generate a consistent stream of revenue from your CPG app. 

A Guide For Restaurant Publishers & App Developers To Beef Up Their Monetization

By Amy Vale

Do you order take-out three nights a week on your smartphone? Have you used your mobile device to locate a nearby restaurant? Do you often look up a restaurant’s menu while on-the-go? If you answered yes to any of these, you’re not alone. According to a recent report from eMarketer, the mass availability of mobile devices is making mobile dining that much more common among U.S. consumers. In fact, 32 percent of U.S. millenials reported checking menus on their phones and nearly one-quarter of U.S. smartphone and tablet users used their mobile devices to order ahead (typically at quick-service or fast-casual restaurants). Here are three ways for restaurant publishers and app developers to beef up their monetization strategies.

Re-engage beyond initial “install”

For utility apps that aren’t centered around games and entertainment, it’s all about re-engaging users (time and time again) past the initial “install.” That’s where in-app purchases can help make monetization become much more plausible and a reality for publishers and app developers. A new Gartner study reveals that apps where users can buy extra items, levels or services are expected to reach 30 percent of all apps in 2016 – that’s up from only 5 percent in 2011. And the revenue coming from in-app purchases will grow from 10 percent to 41 percent over the same period. Getting these types of non-gaming users (i.e. foodies) interested in making in-app purchases is very beneficial – users are rewarded for their brand and app loyalty, while publishers and app developers get revenue.

Be relevant and reward loyalty

This past summer, Denny’s restaurant chain launched its “50State Check-In Challenge” in conjunction with the release of its first mobile app. But the casual restaurant chain’s goal wasn’t to increase brand awareness; it was to make the experience relevant and useful for its customers. If you ask me, Denny’s CMO made a smart decision to design their own app because they mirrored the app’s user experience and functionality to their audience – who they are, what devices they use, what types of content matter, and of course, where they are.

Knowing that not every Denny’s customer may be keen to embark on this type of eating adventure, the app does a good job of including both types of customers with loyalty-based prizes and virtual badges. For example, users who check in to a Denny’s location 10 times will receive 10% off their checks and 25 check-ins pays off with a free “Pancake Puppies” sundae. Group check-ins are also rewarded. There’s a simple lesson to be learned here. A strong user experience breeds loyalty; loyalty drives repeat visits, in-app purchases and social promotion; all of this leads to a consistent source of revenue for publishers and app developers.

Location, location, location

I’ve said this time and time again, but I’ll say it again. Targeting capabilities are an invaluable tool for publishers and app developers. When it comes to dining, hungry people are usually on the hunt for good food, right here and right now. Using geo-location targeting, publishers and app developers can serve up ads that have location-specific relevance and, more importantly, can be used immediately. Serving up the right types of ads to the right users in the right place can have real monetization benefits.

As we head into what I can only assume will be a food-heavy holiday season, I hope publishers and app developers are being smart with their monetization strategies. Are there any restaurant and dining apps that you absolutely love? Do you prefer to use your smartphone or tablet for on-the-go food activities? Tell us on our Facebook page or share your favorite (or funniest) mobile food experience on Twitter using the hashtag #MobileFoodie!

LinkedIn: It’s Time To Monetize Mobile

By Amy Vale

LinkedIn is a staple of the business world, no matter what industry you sit in. In the last few months, we’ve seen the professional networking site ramp up with many improvements such as redesigning its home page, profile pages and company pages, plus launching features such as endorsements, notifications and sponsored job listings. These improvements came off the heels of its Q1 2012 earnings call, which revealed that mobile now accounts for about 22% of its membervisits and the launch of its first official iPad app in April. Despite all this growth in mobile traffic, the network has yet to fully monetize its mobile channels.

According to analyst Mary Meeker’s projections on Internetand Mobile Trends this year, mobile monetization could very well be on track to outpace desktop monetization in as little as one to three years. In August 2012, eMarketer estimated that in the U.S., just under 82 million consumers, or 26% of the population, will access social networks from their phones this year, rising to nearly 117 million by 2014.

One factor that could very well contribute to LinkedIn’s success in monetizing its mobile channel is the predicted growth in tablet advertising. According to IAB’sreport on “Mobile’s Role In The Consumer’s Media Day,”  nearly half of tablet users (47%) reported engaging with ads on that mobile device more than once a week and an impressive 89% of tablet users are extremely likely to take action after engaging with an ad on that device.

The larger screen real estate of tablets, for one, offers a unique benefit to tablet publishers and developers looking to monetize with mobile advertising. For tablet publishers and app developers, it will be important not to simply stretch out existing smartphone apps to fit the device’s larger screen size. With the recent introduction of the iPad Mini and other mid-sized 7 inch tablet devices entering the market, I can’t warn enough against making that mobile mistake. Know the capabilities of and types of devices where your mobile ads will be seen, and then tailor your ad creative accordingly. If your ads are being served onto LinkedIn’s tablet app, rich media and video ads may be a smart way to drive longer and deeper engagement rates and, as a result, monetization.

As we move into 2013, all eyes will be on the professional network to see what steps it will take to invest in a fully scalable mobile solution.

Resilience In The Wake Of Hurricane Sandy

By David Gwozdz

Last week, the Northeast was put to the ultimate test when Hurricane Sandy barreled its way across the east coast. Although it only lasted two days, the effects of the “superstorm” will be seen for months to come. For millions of people in towns near and far – from New York to New Jersey to Connecticut to Washington DC – homes were destroyed, businesses were washed away (literally) and sadly, lives were lost. The people of New York have always been resilient in the face of disaster and tragedy. All of us here at Mocean Mobile feel incredibly proud to call New York City our headquarters and express our deepest sympathies and condolences for all those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Now is the time to come together (friends and strangers alike) and rebuild this city that’s given us so much over the years.

In the months to come, I’m hopeful and optimistic that mobile will act as an important tool in the recovery and rebuilding process. As we’ve seen with previous natural disasters around the world – from the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti to the 2011 tsunami in Japan – mobile carries with it tremendous power to do “good” and empower communities to work together, fundraise and rebuild what’s been torn down to make it even better and stronger.

Because of the unique capabilities of mobile devices and their ability to keep us “always connected” 24/7, mobile giving is expected to account for 20% of Hurricane Sandy disaster relief efforts. The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, American Humane Association and World Vision are just a few of the organizations that have already set up mobile giving campaigns. Mobile users can simply text a keyword to a short code to donate $10 – it’s simple and fast to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Here are just a few ways we can all help and give back to all those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org

Salvation Army: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org

American Humane Association: http://www.americanhumane.org

World Vision: http://www.worldvision.org