Talk to the Handheld with Restraint

“Talk to the hand” was the dismissive phrase from the 1990’s which in its long form, with closed fist extended toward the other person, was, “Talk to the hand because the ear is not listening.”
     These days, the phrase might be so last year. That’s 2011, during which a Coca Cola radio commercial featured a talking iPhone app telling the phone’s owner to “talk to the hand,” to which the owner responds, “No one says that anymore.”
     Results from the “2012 Digital Advertising Attitudes Report” suggests the contemporary phrasing might profitably be “Talk to the handheld, but with restraint.” Consumers are especially sensitive to receiving store advertising on their mobile devices.
     The study, sponsored by Upstream and conducted by YouGov, polled a total of more than 4,000 U.S. and UK adults. The results were statistically weighted by demographics so they are roughly representative of all U.S. and UK adults.
     About two-thirds of the respondents said they’re getting too many ads and promotions on their mobile devices. At the same time, a slightly higher percentage said they wouldn’t mind getting more of the right kinds of ads.
     What’s “right”?

• 26% want the mobile device ads tailored to their personal interests
• 21% want the ads to take account of what the user is doing at the time
• 19% want the ads to be specific to their geographical location

     Current and evolving technologies can make that possible. Until and unless you’re doing it, be careful with the frequency and the complexity of the messages. More than 70% of American consumers and almost 80% of UK consumers say that banner advertisements on their mobile devices are irritating. About 15% of Americans and 11% of Brits who use mobile devices say they’ve ever clicked on a mobile banner ad, and only about 1% say they do so frequently.
     Cross the line of irritation, and there is a price you’ll pay. About 20% of the U.S. survey respondents and about 27% of the U.K. respondents said they’d stop giving business to the advertiser.
     I believe these results indicate that consumers consider interactions with their mobile devices, especially mobile phones, to be more personal than interactions with other internet paraphernalia. The opportunity here is for the retailer to get through the clutter by personalizing the messages. The caution here is to pitch to the consumer via a mobile device only if you do the requisite personalizing.

Click below for more:
Monitor Your Thanks to Customers
Strategize in Advertising Expenditures
Map Mobile Device Users to Buy from You