The post Here at M&C Saatchi, the ‘Brutal Simplicity of Thought’ is our guiding philosophy. Maurice Saatchi on The Rise of Mobile Advertising appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

And yet the incredible rise of mobiles and tablets presents new challenges and concerns to advertisers, perhaps making mobile advertising appear more complicated than it should be.

As ever, I believe that brands should be free from the shackles of technical intimidation and should be able to focus on what they have always done best, which is to ensure that a compelling and clear message reaches the right customer at the right time.

In Britain we spend around 127 minutes per day in mobile apps. Increasingly, our mobile devices form a picture of our interests and browsing habits and they know who we are. Perhaps, most significantly, they also know where we are at any given time.

The added awareness that location brings to mobile advertising offers new and exciting opportunities for brands and consumers alike. Location-awareness represents a revolution in advertising, messaging and branding. Retail brands are now able to geo-fence around their bricks and mortar stores to appropriately identify when a consumer is near. This means that exclusive offers can be sent to shoppers in the vicinity of a store, or a movie trailer played to customers near a cinema.

The availability of affordable tablet devices is providing the tipping point for consumers to begin abandoning the PC as their primary means of accessing email and Internet. To accompany this, they are even eating into the exclusivity of the television set, by providing consumers with a new way of watching their favourite programmes and films. Recent stats from the BBC show that in March, the number of people accessing BBC iPlayer through a tablet surpassed the smartphone figure for the first time ever.

View full article here.

The post Maurice Saatchi on the rise of mobile advertising appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

As we enter this new mobile age, advertisers do not need to be confused or intimidated. Working with an experienced specialist mobile agency will help to reduce the apparent complexity of mobile and retain the simplicity that needs to govern a brand’s advertising outlook. As ever, I believe that brands should be free from the shackles of technical intimidation and should be able to focus on what they have always done best, which is to ensure that a compelling and clear message reaches the right customer at the right time.

Mobiles are ever-present in most of our lives. They are now a natural extension of ourselves and a means of staying permanently connected to a world of friends, family, work and information. Their ubiquitous nature means that they present advertisers with an emerging opportunity like no other. There are now more mobile phones and tablet devices in the UK than people and television sets. Opportunities to connect are reaching new heights with Wi-Fi on the London Underground and airplanes and a new Wi-Fi network is soon due to launch in London’s Black Cabs.

In Britain we spend around 127 minutes per day in mobile apps. Increasingly, our mobile devices form a picture of our interests and browsing habits and they know who we are. Perhaps, most significantly, they also know where we are at any given time. The added awareness that location brings to mobile advertising offers new and exciting opportunities for brands and consumers alike. Location-awareness represents a revolution in advertising, messaging and branding. Retail brands are now able to geo-fence around their bricks and mortar stores to appropriately identify when a consumer is near. This means that exclusive offers can be sent to shoppers in the vicinity of a store, or a movie trailer played to customers near a cinema.

There are two highly significant trends which will accelerate the importance of mobile in 2013. The first trend is the decline of the desktop PC. Recent research by International Data Corp showed that PC sales worldwide are at their lowest point since records began with a 14 % drop in sales and IDC calling the US market “dismal,” with its shipments at their lowest level since 2006. Although some blame has been placed at the door of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 software for putting consumers off, much of the decline can be attributed to the growth of smaller form-factor tablets, especially the introduction of affordable sub-£150 7” devices from Amazon and Google as well as the launch of the iPad Mini.

The availability of affordable tablet devices is providing the tipping point for consumers to begin abandoning the PC as their primary means of accessing email and internet. To accompany this, they are even eating into the exclusivity of the television set, by providing consumers with a new way of watching their favourite programmes and films. Recent stats from the BBC show that in March, the number of people accessing BBC iPlayer through a tablet surpassed the smartphone figure for the first time ever.

The other major change is the introduction of new 4G networks, which is akin to the move from dial-up to broadband for fixed line connections. Although true mass-market adoption is still a small while off for 4G, the introduction of super-fast mobile broadband offers exciting creative opportunities for running interactive media campaigns on mobiles.

Another significant growth area for mobile advertising is social networks. This is largely due to the fact that they take up a significant amount of consumers’ time spent on their mobile. As a result of this, companies such as Facebook and Twitter are able to build an incredibly detailed picture of interests and habits for increased advertising targeting effectiveness.

James Hilton, global CEO of M&C Saatchi Mobile observes the “explosive” growth of mobile advertising, as well as its capabilities first hand. Mobile advertising has proven itself to be a major advertising platform, with global revenues worth $6.43 billion in 2012 according to mobile ad exchange SMAATO and is projected to be worth $19.7 billion by 2017. 2013 is shaping up to be the biggest year for mobile so far, as more consumers than ever shift over to smartphones and tablets: 25 million+ iOS and Android devices were activated globally in the period following Christmas alone. These numbers support the trends we saw in 2012, as smartphones overtook feature phones and opened up new opportunities for rich and engaging mobile advertising.

The ever-present nature of mobile devices coupled with location awareness, combine to make mobile an incredibly potent platform, giving brands the capability to target consumers at an increasingly granular level. This is something which has not existed previously and consumers will once again welcome advertising as it serves up products and services which are directly useful and relevant to their lives.

The sheer pace of change and sophistication of mobile devices means that for advertisers it is often easier to complicate than to simplify. This need not be the case. Brands should leave the technicalities to the experts so that they can focus on what they have always done best – which is to focus on the core message. More than ever, mobile requires what all other advertising mediums need to deliver: brutal simplicity of thought.

Read full article here.

The post Maurice Saatchi: Mobile advertising is easier to complicate than simplify appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

As we enter this new mobile age, advertisers do not need to be confused or intimidated. Working with an experienced specialist mobile agency will help to reduce the apparent complexity of mobile and retain the simplicity that needs to govern a brand’s advertising outlook. As ever, I believe that brands should be free from the shackles of technical intimidation and should be able to focus on what they have always done best, which is to ensure that a compelling and clear message reaches the right customer at the right time.

Mobiles are ever-present in most of our lives. They are now a natural extension of ourselves and a means of staying permanently connected to a world of friends, family, work and information. Their ubiquitous nature means that they present advertisers with an emerging opportunity like no other. There are now more mobile phones and tablet devices in the UK than people and television sets. Opportunities to connect are reaching new heights with Wi-Fi on the London Underground and airplanes and a new Wi-Fi network is soon due to launch in London’s black cabs.

In Britain we spend around 127 minutes per day in mobile apps. Increasingly, our mobile devices form a picture of our interests and browsing habits and they know who we are. Perhaps, most significantly, they also know where we are at any given time. The added awareness that location brings to mobile advertising offers new and exciting opportunities for brands and consumers alike. Location-awareness represents a revolution in advertising, messaging and branding. Retail brands are now able to geo-fence around their bricks and mortar stores to appropriately identify when a consumer is near. This means that exclusive offers can be sent to shoppers in the vicinity of a store, or a movie trailer played to customers near a cinema.

There are two highly significant trends which will accelerate the importance of mobile in 2013. The first trend is the decline of the desktop PC. Recent research by International Data Corp showed that PC sales worldwide are at their lowest point since records began with a 14 % drop in sales and IDC calling the US market ‘dismal’, with its shipments at their lowest level since 2006. Although some blame has been placed at the door of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 software for putting consumers off, much of the decline can be attributed to the growth of smaller form-factor tablets, especially the introduction of affordable sub-£150 7” devices from Amazon and Google as well as the launch of the iPad Mini.

The availability of affordable tablet devices is providing the tipping point for consumers to begin abandoning the PC as their primary means of accessing email and Internet. To accompany this, they are even eating into the exclusivity of the television set, by providing consumers with a new way of watching their favourite programmes and films. Recent stats from the BBC show that in March, the number of people accessing BBC iPlayer through a tablet surpassed the smartphone figure for the first time ever.

The other major change is the introduction of new 4G networks, which is akin to the move from dial-up to broadband for fixed line connections. Although true mass-market adoption is still a small while off for 4G, the introduction of super-fast mobile broadband offers exciting creative opportunities for running interactive media campaigns on mobiles.

Another significant growth area for mobile advertising is social networks. This is largely due to the fact that they take up a significant amount of consumers’ time spent on their mobile. As a result of this, companies such as Facebook and Twitter are able to build an incredibly detailed picture of interests and habits for increased advertising targeting effectiveness.

James Hilton, global CEO of M&C Saatchi Mobile observes the “explosive” growth of mobile advertising, as well as its capabilities first hand. Mobile advertising has proven itself to be a major advertising platform, with global revenues worth $6.43 billion in 2012 according to mobile ad exchange SMAATO and is projected to be worth $19.7 billion by 2017. 2013 is shaping up to be the biggest year for mobile so far, as more consumers than ever shift over to smartphones and tablets: 25 million+ iOS and Android devices were activated globally in the period following Christmas alone. These numbers support the trends we saw in 2012, as smartphones overtook feature phones and opened up new opportunities for rich and engaging mobile advertising.

The ever-present nature of mobile devices coupled with location awareness, combine to make mobile an incredibly potent platform, giving brands the capability to target consumers at an increasingly granular level. This is something which has not existed previously and consumers will once again welcome advertising as it serves up products and services which are directly useful and relevant to their lives.

The sheer pace of change and sophistication of mobile devices means that for advertisers it is often easier to complicate than to simplify. This need not be the case. Brands should leave the technicalities to the experts so that they can focus on what they have always done best – which is to focus on the core message. More than ever, mobile requires what all other advertising mediums need to deliver: brutal simplicity of thought.

The post The Rise of Mobile Advertising appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

Tasked with demonstrating that Triumph Adler copiers copy far quicker than most others on the market, the savvy company turned to Twitter. Setting up an account, the company targeted hundreds of prospective businesses, and followed them. It had no ambition to be followed back. Rather, whenever any of these companies sent out a tweet, in split seconds, Triumph Adler simply retweeted them. Each retweet, which of course notifies the original sender, was accompanied with the message ‘copies faster’ , with a link to their site.

News of the initiative clearly resonated with other businesses. Its 50k retweets generated a 10% click trough rate to their website, which ultimately gave rise to a 500% lift in sales. A1.

The post BUSINESS TO BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

James Hilton, CEO, M&C Saatchi Mobile:

The problems around mobile measurement are focused on three main reasons.

Firstly: the fragmentation of the mobile industry. Advertisers have to understand and tackle technical challenges on multiple platforms; browsers are all based on different standards or device identifiers are not present on platforms.

The second reason is app stores. Users have to go through the platform app store after the ad placement interaction and before they open the app. App stores have different limitations but some of them (such as iOS) have very closed systems. This prevents the use of usual online tracking solutions like ref-tags.

The final reason is online tracking solutions. Brands are still trying to implement online solutions, but this is not a simple task. Although mobile is digital, traditional solutions are not suited to the mobile space because some mobile browsers do not accept third party cookies, and when a new app is downloaded it is seen as a new browser on that platform (cross platform attribution is not possible without use of a unique ID).

View full article here:

The post Mobile is a complex advertising ecosystem appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

Intel, however, has dropped something that might leave you hypnotically sipping at your coffee ’til you’re snapped out of it. The “PUSH for Ultrabook” installation (which feels like the fairest thing to call it) is inspired by the addictive penny-fall machines that no self-respecting seaside pier is complete without. After scraping Facebook data, an impressively smooth IBM branded robotic arm takes the letters from a user’s name and introduces them to a machine that is slowly pushing an Acer Ultrabook off the prize shelf, into a lucky player’s lap. If your name is the one to tip the laptop over the edge, you win.

It’s an old classic, impressively executed and we reckon it’s winning some good dwell time. It does have a slightly cumbersome Facebook sign-in at the start, and a heck of a long queue (as of writing over 6800). That’s a real wait for your moment of truth.

The post IBM’S ARCADE ARM SLOT MACHINE appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

Donottouch.org was in fact a crowdsourcing project that welcomed many thousands of visitors to its page, recording them as they used their mouse cursors to follow certain instructions live. A video was played each individual responded to what they saw on screen. They were asked to follow enigmatic pathways and moving targets, indicate their age and sexuality, and to work together to form various shapes – all of which created a fascinating swarming effect which was both beautiful to watch, and quite behaviourally insightful.

We love the simplicity of this work. It’s hugely inclusive; participation could not be any easier, and as it turns out, it’s done a brilliant job of promoting the song online.

The post MUSIC VIDEO MADE BY MICE appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

And a new entrepreneurial force strolled onto the London scene this week, looking to redefine convenience. We think it has the potential to go much further. Pocket Shop takes the breadth of offering of a Tesco Metro or Sainsbury’s Express and mixes that with the ease and speed of your average takeaway restaurant – promising to have groceries to your door within the hour. If you’re missing the odd ingredient, or just fancy a chocolate bar, your world might be about to change. You’ll pay a small premium for the privilege, but the service is affordable and edges our online and offline worlds that bit closer together.

We’re always very interested to see what the very best online experiences do to consumers’ expectations more broadly. If we can get a Mars Bar or pain killers delivered to the door within 60mins, other internet delivery starts to feel rather slow… And what of a network capable of making cheap door visits within an hour? It could prove a ripe territory for brand partnerships and great creative ideas…

The post POCKET SHOP IS THE NEW CONVENIENCE appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.

The post Mobile phones will help advertisers give consumers what they want, where they want it appeared first on M&C Saatchi Mobile.