According to IDC, the number of mobile devices accessing the Internet worldwide will surpass 1 billion by 2013, and the number of mobile Internet users worldwide will hit 900 million that same year. And a recent study by PR agency Ruder Finn finds that Americans now spend an average of 2.7 hours per day on the mobile Internet.
“The number of mobile devices with Internet access has simply exploded over the last several years,” says John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. “With a wealth of information and services available from almost anywhere, Internet-connected mobile devices are reshaping the way we go about our personal and professional lives. With an explosion in applications for mobile devices under way, the next several years will witness another sea change in the way users interact with the Internet.”
Michael Schubert, chief innovation officer overseeing digital strategy at Ruder Finn says, “Mobile technology means that people no longer have to wait until they’re in front of their computers to do their work. People are taking advantage of that—using mobile devices to do their core work while using desktops to navigate longer-format and higher-bandwidth content and tools.”
For PR executives, this means now is the time to formulate a mobile PR strategy, and begin to integrate the mobile platform in your organizations’ or clients’ campaigns.
CASE FOR MOBILE
With hundreds of millions of cell phones on the market, many with Web capabilities, it’s not hard to make the argument to move into mobile. Schubert says it gives communicators a big advantage in getting the word out. “PR is traditionally taking your message out through an intermediary—a journalist, for example,” he says. “One thing that mobile gives you is a chance to bypass that and go directly to the public.”
Sounds a lot like social media, which is a big part of the mobile equation. To quench the thirst of the large social networking crowd, handset makers like Nokia are offering new lines of smartphones that integrate Facebook and other social networks with users’ personal address books.
“Via Twitter or RSS feeds that land on mobile, you don’t have to wait for someone else to frame your story,” says Schubert. More and more, he says, companies are pushing product launches out via mobile, sending text messages and/or tweets with links to microsites or specially built mobile Web sites.
And speaking of the media, more and more journalists are now getting story ideas and information from social networks via their phones. In the near future, announcing via mobile new products, events and news conferences on Twitter and Facebook, for example, may become the norm. “No longer will reporters be reading a long press kit to get information,” says Schubert.
The downloadable mobile application is also taking hold. As an example, Schubert cites a healthcare company looking to announce some big news to doctors at a medical conference via an iPhone app. “While the news immediacy is lost, they will get more targeted eyeballs that way rather than having it lost in the clutter.” (For more on mobile applications, see PR News, Jan. 18, 2010 issue.)
RIPE WITH POSSIBILITIES
One organization that is front and center with mobile is the Heartland Mobile Council (www.heartlandmobilecouncil.org), a new Chicago-based nonprofit focused on education around mobile marketing and communications. Next month the organization is holding its inaugural Mobile University event, where they plan to engage participants using a variety of mobile tactics.
According to Kellie Stickel, director of the Mobile University project, it’s an education for her as well. “We’re going to be trying a lot of different things to showcase the power of mobile,” says Stickel. “In our planning, the depth and breadth of what it can do is pretty amazing.”
By way of providing some best practices on using mobile-centered communications, here’s a sampling of what participants will experience, besides the presentations on mobile:
• SMS alerts leading up to the conference
• Mobile check-in to the event using texting
• An app that will show event-goers what an optimized mobile Web site looks like
• Speaker presentations packaged in a mobile format
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Although the technology issues may seem daunting, there are other challenges that Schubert sees as more significant for PR executives. They include:
â–¶ Regulatory and approval processes. “Legal departments in organizations are worried about messaging, now that content is becoming portable,” says Schubert. It’s similar to legal challenges faced with social media.
â–¶ Organizational infighting. Within large organizations, there may be a tug-of-war between PR, marketing, IT and the C-suite. “As organizations build mobile versions of sites, who owns those?” asks Schubert. Just as business units are figuring out the answer to that question, the CEO is insisting on forging ahead, he says.
â–¶ Budget backlash. In today’s economic environment, budgets to create and implement mobile strategies may be thin. “From a marketing and PR point of view, mobile is still an add-on, not a platform for which you can transfer funds from another discipline,” says Schubert.
MOBILE’S BEST FRIEND
How does an organization overcome those challenges and start on a path toward “mobility”? Schubert cites a rather unlikely source for support: the CEO. With social media, he says, the C-suite was baffled by the concept. Mobile is a different story. “CEOs now live and die by their BlackBerrys and iPhones,” says Schubert. “Many of them never sit in front of a desktop PC.” So their ability to view mobile PR efforts firsthand on their own devices could lift budgets and PR’s business value simultaneously.
Kristen Fox, senior VP at Edelman and a veteran of mobile campaigns around entertainment, sports and consumer products, says mobile was ready to be written off three years ago, but is very much alive today. Her advice is to treat mobile like you would other communications channels. “Think about your objectives and strategy first, and know your audience, and how you’ll keep them engaged with the platform,” says Fox. PRN
CONTACT:
Michael Schubert, [email protected]; Kellie Stickel, [email protected]; Kristin Fox, [email protected]; Robert Willington, [email protected].