Mobile Phone Marketing - Essay Example

Failure to do so will eventually turn out to be counterproductive and can lead to the degradation of the brand being marketed (Hendery 2). The dearth of relevant technologies is one other big problem being faced by the proponents of mobile phone marketing. Considering the immense potential of the mobile phone marketing, this channel is gaining an enhanced acceptance amongst the marketing professionals. The corporations are well aware that a mobile phone is something that a person carries everywhere and therefore ample budgetary allocations are being made to launch and support interactive marketing campaigns (Long 1).

Infact the potential of mobile phone marketing is much higher as compared to the internet marketing component, as the number of cell phone subscribers is very large as compared to the number of people who own or use computers (Long 1). As per a survey conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association based in Colorado, US, the total number of mobile phone subscribers around the world stands to be a mind boggling 1.4 billion, which is way ahead of the total number of land line phone subscribers throughout the world (Long 1).

In the US alone, more then 65 percent of the population owns cell phones (Long 2). Also the text messaging is gaining much popularity amongst the mobile phone owners (Long 2). There exist many valid reasons that will make mobile marketing really popular amongst the top brands in the UK. First and foremost, the mobile phone marketing enables the brands to interact with a specific target audience (Business Wire 1). Secondly, it enables the brands to ascertain how a user responds to a particular marketing message (Business Wire 1).

Last but not the least, mobile phone marketing enables the companies to certify, whether a particular message has reached the customer or not (Business Wire 1). Mobile phone operators also stand to gain from this trend as it promises lucrative revenue opportunities for them. As per a survey conducted by Airwide Solutions in the UK, by the end of 2008, nearly 89 top brands in the UK will resort to text and multimedia messaging to communicate with their potential customers (Business Wire 1).

Nearly one third of these brands are expected to allocate more then 10 percent of their marketing allocations to mobile phone marketing (Business Wire 1). Such budgetary allocations are expected to augment to more then 25 percent in the next five years (Business Wire 1). Small screen size of mobile phones was one major barrier to the mobile phone marketing (Shea 1). In the last few years, the mobile phone manufacturers responded to such consumer expectations by making the mobile phones smaller and smaller.

Thus the small phones with their small screen sizes severely limited the scope and potential of mobile phone marketing (Shea 1). However, last year this trend was reversed with the advent of Apple's iPhone, which is a small phone with a big screen (Shea 1). Considering the current trend towards bigger screens in association with the recent innovations in the cellular technology like wireless internet capabilities and high speeds, the mobile phone