Marketers to Increase Spending on Mobile Platforms, Survey Says

NEW YORK - An overwhelming majority of marketers – 88 percent – said they will use mobile platforms in 2011, with 75 percent also saying they plan to increase their spending on mobile marketing initiatives by an average of 59 percent when compared to their 2010 spending, according to a new survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in partnership with the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).

Nearly 62 percent of brands used some form of mobile marketing in 2010, and an additional 26 percent surveyed said they plan to do the same this year, according to the ANA-MMA joint survey.

"Mobile is clearly a fast-growing platform for marketers, but it has yet to attain its full potential,” said Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA. "With the anticipated increase in adoption this year, we expect to see fresh, innovative approaches, increased brand-building success, and better accountability for this exciting channel.”

Only 25 percent of survey respondents rated their mobile efforts as "extremely” or "very” successful, while more than half (53 percent) said their mobile marketing efforts have been "somewhat” successful. Of brands that are doing a good job in the mobile space, other marketers most often named Coca-Cola and Target as successes for their superb mobile advertising and integration of mobile Web, rewards and wish-list registry, respectively.

Marketers are currently using more than a dozen distinct interactive mobile platforms, according to the survey, and the five with the highest adoption levels are: mobile Web sites, mobile apps, mobile messaging/SMS, mobile display ads and mobile search.

"The results of the ANA-MMA joint survey indicate we will continue to see increased adoption and spending this year across all mobile marketing platforms,” said Greg Stuart, global CEO of MMA. "The MMA is committed to further establishing critical best practices and guidelines that create efficiencies and eliminate barriers for marketers to make mobile an indispensable part of their marketing mix.”