More than half of Philippine advertisers invest in mobile marketing but have moderate insight into consumer mobile behaviors. While investment in mobile marketing has risen 6% from 2013, challenges around measuring ROI and a lack of uniform analytics frameworks still hinder some advertisers. However, experts believe that within the next two years, mobile will be as important as other media channels due to its ability to create customized experiences for consumers on their most relevant device.

2. The state of Philippine
MOBILE MARKETING
“Mobile is going to have a bigger impact
than the Internet had. The Internet shook
us all up. I think that mobile is going to
shake us up all the more.” – Keith Weed,
Chief Marketing Officer, Unilever
For the second year, Mobext has conducted
a joint research with the Philippine Association
of National Advertisers (PANA), with the aim
of addressing the question: How do Philippine
advertisers view mobile as a marketing channel?
Getting responses from 87 mid-to-senior
marketers from across different industries, the
research uncovers the benefits and barriers that our
local marketers see when it comes to harnessing this
device that is on every Filipino’s hand.
Here are three main takeaways from the study:
1) 54% invest in mobile marketing, and yet more
than half (52%) claim to have only moderate insight
on their consumers’ mobile behaviors.
From 2013, the percentage of marketers
investing in mobile has risen by 6%. According to
Arthur Policarpio, CEO of Mobext Philippines, this
can be attributed to different efforts from various
stakeholders: “Local handset manufacturers have
introduced very affordable smartphones, telcos
have pushed for cheaper--and free--data packages,
agencies are integrating mobile into their media
plans, and some local brands such as McDonald’s have
shown success from mobile. It will only grow bigger
next year.”
Policarpio says that these very same stakeholders
should also come together to drive more research to
understand the mobile behaviors of Filipinos better.
To note, internal mobile insight seems to have
improved this year, as in 2013, majority (44%)
claimed to have ‘negligible’ insight.
2) The same perceived challenges remain: The
lack of a uniform framework to measure ROI is still
the biggest barrier hindering non-investors in mobile.
Concerns over ROI is something to be expected
from a rapidly-growing medium such as mobile--with
so many mobile channels you can use and the lack
of uniform analytics, marketers would rather funnel
their budget to tested channels. “What’s happening
is not any different from how marketers felt about
social media when it boomed. There was a rush to
build a presence on social media without having a
solid understanding of its real role in the business.
For mobile, I suggest that brands take a step back and
be clear about what they want to achieve with it. They
can then measure mobile’s impact on that goal, versus
when they didn’t have any mobile execution.”
3) In the next two years, mobile will be as
important as every other media channel.
Despite the challenges, mobile’s influence for
marketers is undeniable. “It is the most important
medium for our consumers, and it surpasses TV in
terms of reach. The missing piece for advertisers
is to find ways for mobile to surpass TV in terms of
engagement,” comments the country media manager
of a top FMCG brand.
Policarpio notes that there is still a lot of work to
be done. “Marketers should see mobile beyond the
media or campaign aspect. It is a way of thinking—
how do we create experiences for my customers in the
device that is most relevant to them? “

4. “I’m optimistic that mobile will be able to
go around privacy issues and its current
‘intrusiveness.’ Mobile marketing will be subtle
and on-demand.”
- Research manager, top pizza chain
“I believe that mobile marketing would be
more user-driven. We also have to note that no
one medium stands on its own. It’s about the
different media channels enriching the user’s
experience across different screens.”
- Manager, top insurance company
“Mobile will give marketers a better
opportunity to customize communication
to their audience, going beyond the usual
demographics. At the same time, they can tap
this medium to enhance their products/services
more quickly by gathering customer insights in
real-time.”
- Media Manager, pharma company