Mobile is quickly redefining how we interact with brands on a daily basis. Media companies report that visits from mobile phones and tablets have more than doubled in the last 12 months and now compose 20 to 30 percent of overall traffic across the Internet. According to the IAB, in 2010 mobile only accounted for 2.1 percent of Internet advertising spend but worldwide mobile ad spend is projected to rise to $36.87 billion in 2016 according to eMarketer. One macro-trend coming out of the industry is how mobile is still a relatively uncharted realm for advertisers, and those brands who find the right mix of ad relevance and experience will be the victors.
I feel that as an industry, we are just now diving deep into the real potential of mobile advertising. We must think about the possibilities beyond mobile banners to help brands and publishers alike enable native experiences that are truly optimized on mobile devices. Our goal at Zumobi is to captivate consumers with brand integrated experiences on mobile as it has become the screen of choice in 2013 and beyond.
As mobile advertising continues to ascend to new heights, industry thought leaders are paving the way for the development of mobile as... Read more
Archive for Marla Schimke 
Voices of Change: Key Reflections from 2013's Mobile Women to Watch
Don't Let Your Content Become Orphaned: The Story of Little Orphan Appy
Do you ever wonder where old apps go when you stop using them? I have this theory that they all work for Miss Hannigan at the app orphanage still scrubbing floors and sporadically breaking into song. Stop and think about how many branded apps are sitting in the ibis of applandia like orphans waiting to be downloaded again.
I still remember the days when it was considered leading edge to have a corporate website and now brand names are decided based on whether the url is readily available. Unlike websites that remain searchable, how much money has been wasted on branded apps that were once a big idea?
“Making money was all I ever cared about.” – Daddy Warbucks
As a marketer myself, I understand the pressure to create an app and having a “mobile strategy.” There is nothing like the feeling of seeing your app placed in an App Store for the first time. But there is a difference between creating an app just for the sake of it and creating an app that promotes your brand image and builds preference. Once you build an app you are truly proud of, the next struggle is determining how to generate a steady stream... Read more
Mobile is the New Black
Remember the time when cell phones didn’t exist? Or when car phones were the size of fax machines or laser printers? How about when the only purpose a mobile phone served was to make and receive calls or play snake? The industry has come a long way from the first adoption of mobile. Mobile hasn’t just revolutionized a communication industry; it’s revolutionizing the advertising industry as well. In fact, Gartner predicts that mobile advertising will be a $20.6 billion market by 2015.
As the majority of our customers are spending time glued to their handheld devices, we continually have to find new and exciting ways to engage with them. Long gone are the times when effective marketing simply included billboards, print ads, banners and TV spots. In the new era of mobility, brands have to find alternate ways to communicate, connect with and engage customers.
We all know that brand loyalty is emotional. Consumers who stick with one brand over another have a connection with that brand. There are distinct rivalries between Coke and Pepsi, McDonalds and Burger King, Nike and Adidas and of course Apple and everyone else. In an increasingly connected world, how do brands sufficiently and emotionally engage with... Read more
Welcome to the NAI, Marc Groman: Celebrating the Conversations
Congratulations and welcome to the NAI, Marc Groman. The news that the FTC’s bright star is going to be the NAI’s next executive director and general counsel has resonated well with the ad community. Soon, most brand marketers and agency executives will grasp just how positive this move is in terms of affecting the dialogue that has been taking place around online privacy, ad targeting and industry regulation. It is a tremendous tipping point for our business.
I speak from the standpoint of a company that has been an active member of the NAI since 2003. The operational word there is “active.” This is not the kind of trade organization that waits for things to happen. It is an advocacy group in the best sense of the word. The NAI has been one of our most profound conduits towards communicating the positive elements of using audience targeting technology from the beginning. It has been a unifying factor for all the serious companies in this business. It has kept us on message and focused on best practices while various Washington agencies have taken their shots at ad technology in the name of privacy. It would have been easy to look at the... Read more
