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Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. (Goethe)

Article:  Commit to Mobile Instead of "Testing"

Commit To Mobile Instead Of 'Testing'

Cory Treffiletti, Jan 13, 2010 02:30 PM

Do you have a mobile strategy, or are you just winging it?

Participating in the mobile landscape is like any relationship: to be effective, you have to know what you want going into it. You have to be willing to commit and to compromise in order to have success.

Mobile is growing in importance; the recent acquisitions by Google and Apple of mobile ad networks, as well as the recent announcement of the Google Nexus One, demonstrates that fact. The problem is that too many people come at it from the wrong perspective. Mobile is first and foremost a communications vehicle, and the smart marketers are the ones that are using it in that way. Mobile is built on apps and ads, but all these do is provide an easier means of expanding the communication between a brand and the consumer.

Mobile should be used as a support and extension vehicle for other media campaigns by embracing that communications role. It is not something to be planned in a vacuum, because it doesn't perform well as a stand-alone effort. The ads in the mobile space are too small and un-engaging, and the applications that some companies develop are always an extension of an application from somewhere else. Customer service apps are an extension of traditional customer service. Mobile Web sites are a repurposing of existing content. No brand would begin with the mobile platform as its primary means of interacting with the consumer, because the reach and the experience are too limited. Mobile is rather a medium that is well used for continuing a conversation that was started somewhere else.

I get calls day in and day out from mobile providers that want us to spend money on their platform, but they are typically pitching first and listening second, which does a disservice to the mobile category because it is not building on the strength of the medium. Mobile is a means of extending the conversation and going beyond the browser, the printed page or the television commercial. By integrating a mobile component for follow-up, you can provide a measurement element for other campaigns. Text messaging can be used for additional information. Mobile search can be used to get information on the fly. Location-based services can provide similar efforts.

Even mobile ads that refer to a holistic campaign launched in another medium can reinforce messaging and convert consumers into consideration (especially when factored in with mobile offers that reach the consumer closer to the point of purchase). All of these elements provide follow-up that may not have existed before.

To do mobile right, you need to be proactive and plan out the goals for your campaign, and you need to integrate it into your entire effort. Don't plan mobile as a "test" buy in your media plan, because it will be just like "testing" a relationship. If you don't commit to a relationship, it can't work. You can build a beautiful application but if you don't promote it and integrate it into your overall effort, it will fail.

If you're going to commit to a mobile integration in your efforts, be willing to compromise. You have to work within the parameters of where the industry is now, not plan for where it will be in a year. Your audience may not be at the forefront of technology yet -- not ready for apps as advanced as you may want to try -- but you have to respect them where they are (plus the industry changes so rapidly that you may not be correct on your bets). So reach out to your audience, get them interested, and then take them where you want to go.

And for the people selling mobile these days, please set your expectations properly. Yours is not a quick sell, because you need to sell into existing campaigns. Your ideas cannot be planned in a vacuum or you will not succeed. Be sure to do your homework and have a strategy from your side as well.

Strategic planning from both sides will lead to easier successes down the line. Don't you agree?

If you don't already follow Social Media Examiner, you should. Here's another one of their great articles on Facebook engagement.

Google Alerts are emails sent to you when Google finds new results -- such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs -- that match your search term. You can use Google Alerts to monitor anything on the Web.

I use Google Alerts to monitor our own LeaseLabs brand, as well as our clients brands.  Here's an example of an alert I received today:

I also have an Alert set up for Andy Roddick (I'm a fan).  But you can use for any topic at all:

• find out what is being said about your community or management company
• monitor a developing news story
• keep up to date on a competitor or our industry
• get the latest news on a celebrity or sports team
• find out what's being said about yourself!

Windmasters are a great way to get your message out there, while being easy to move around or put away at night. Plus, they're made in the U.S.A., and can be refilled with new message inserts for years.

Windmaster Specs:

• Overall Size: 28” x 44” insert
• Aluminum construction
• Sleek, contemporary styling
• Dent-resistant fluted polypropylene back
• Tool-free assembly
• Flexes to withstand strong wind gusts
• Molded water/sand-filled base with built in wheels that tilt and roll for easy moving.
• Made in U.S.A.
• Gloss Black Frame/Molded Gray Base

If you'd like to be notified when we launch this product, let us know.

Many of you asked for Campaign Sets (matching product groups) so you can create a matching set of products all with the same design in your choice of colors. We've rolled out the Crossover Campaign set as the first of many of this type of sets. As always, the feedback we get from you guides our design efforts, so there is nothing more valuable to us than the comments you send to us at support@leaselabs.com.

The Crossover Campaign contains these items:

• A-Frames
• Banners
• Posters
• Flyers
• Postcards
• Print Ads
• Bootlegs
• Doorhangers
• Bookmarks

EZPublish PRO Level Adds Apartment Finder Ad Template

Pro-level customers now have access to three Apartment Finder ad templates and four Apartment Guide ads as part of their service. These ad templates, approved by the publications, are easy to create and proof online in EZPublish. Then all you do is download and forward the pdf to your rep at the publications and PRESTO - a custom-designed ad at no additional cost to you.

While in Vegas we had the pleasure of taking one of our favorite clients, Lisa Young, Woodmont Real Estate Services, out to dinner at the SW Steakhouse. We enjoyed hearing all of Lisa feedback and ideas on how we could add icing to our EZPublish™ system and we look forward to implementing some of Lisa's hot ideas. Thanks Lisa!

Our final day in Vegas couldn't have been any better. We caught a streak at the craps table and were able to leave with our shirts still on our backs! Lamar Odom and Robert Kardashian Jr. were also enjoying the Wynn and stopped by our craps table which was entertaining... But where was Khloe? Maybe poolside at The Encores new daytime hot spot, Surrender, featuring Kaskade? Never a dull moment!

Our next trip is to Orlando for the AAGO Trade Show, 8/16 - 8/18. We are looking forward to meeting all the great industry friends in Florida as this is our first year exhibiting at this show. We will be hosting a great special for anyone who signs at the tradeshow. So stay tuned and try to get a demo in before the show or stop by booth number 120A at the show for a live demonstration on how we can save you time, money and improve your marketing efforts all with just a couple clicks.

Talk soon!

Steven