How to win in mobile

With mobile being the last thing we interact with at night and the first thing we wake up to in the morning, we bring you five essential thoughts for building mobile-ready brands.

1. Tell many short stories

Great storytelling is now about immersing people in what we like to think of as a brand solar system, where each planet represents a piece of content, or in other words a small story. Each story can stand on its own two feet. Yet is part of a wider story – the big brand idea. As the first touch point, the stories you tell on mobile need to captivate the mind to want more.

 
2. We are still human beings

Digital may have transformed our everyday activity and reshaped our behaviours, but our basic human needs have not changed. Our decision making is still driven by key emotional needs such as selfactualisation, belonging, and self-esteem. Whilst digital has changed the way brands interact, the basics of good brand strategy remain the same – the need to build strong emotional relationships via every touch point, including mobile.

3. Be generous. Not greedy.

Brands can become greedy in pursuit of ‘Big Data’, expecting consumers to share privacy, information, time, or even friends. Mobile marketing is probably one of the worst invasions of privacy and mind. This has shifted the traditional value equation of ‘what you get’ over ‘what you pay for’ as brands demand more from consumers, often with a higher price tag but unclear additional gain. If brands want to extract value from consumers they need to give something of value first. Only then will they earn the right to engage in the mobile channel. And avoid the risk of turn-off .

4. Be prepared to relinquish control

As consumers we all like to have our say and to be listened to. Our mobile phone has transformed what we expect from brands. And as marketers, managing communities and connections has become more important than crafting ‘communications’. Brands need to earn the right to connect to their audience, focusing on interacting with and inspiring the communities that exist on real-time platforms and channels.

5. Design matters

Design creates normality out of chaos. Our brains process images 60 000 times quicker than text. New generations don’t just expect good design, they demand it. They have the tools and ability to create great design for themselves so they won’t forgive poor design when it comes to brands. Production values over the mobile need to be as high as those of any traditional channel.

These thoughts are meant to build on top of solid foundations such as knowing what you stand for and having a purpose or role which consumers have a need or desire for. A well-defined and clear role will drive brand behaviour, forcing a shift in mind-set from communications to content. A content mind-set being one that will thrive best on mobile.