The AdNews NGen blog: What's that in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?

Minds out of the gutter people. Chances are, it's just your mobile.

We stare at it literally everywhere. At home, at work and on-the-go. It's our personable and portable connection to the world. So, as brand managers, how can we effectively begin to use it to connect with our consumers?
 
We've all seen the stats and heard the same presentations - Mobile is growing; and at a rate 8x quicker than that of Online. The gradient of its rise would have even the most hardened athletes think twice about climbing its mountainous equivalent. Its rise has been so exponential that we're stumbling and tripping to keep up with its pace - 79% of Aussie websites don't even have mobile specific destination! In a country which has the 2nd highest proliferation of smartphone adoption, this isn't acceptable.
 
It was 3 years ago that mobile Internet access exceeded desktop based access and in the digital age, we move at the speed of dog years, so that really was a long, long time ago.
 
The sheer weight and abundance of mobile data has clients recognising its importance, but has so far been treated as a 'check box' rather than a focal point, as opposed to other traditional forms of media.
 
So, in order to connect with our consumers and fully utilise the potential of this medium, we need to help our clients understand it, get more of them to do it, but also to do it right.
 
The solution lies not in better ideas and more creative expression - we have an embarrassment of riches in this area. A point epitomised by the winners of this year's MFA innovation prize (Commonwealth Bank's Property Guide App from IKON). Where we, brands, consumers and mobile as a medium ultimately suffer, is in the sell to clients.
 
We need to transform our dreamy and power-point confined ideas in to a tangible reality.
 
How? Mobile is at its best when showcased.
 
We need to put the mobile experience into a story. By this, I mean that the consumers experience is captured in a place i.e. a prototype of the eventual app/mobile website. In this way, the client gets a sense of what the user journey could be and the story is told as an experience to communicate an idea. This can be done in co-operation with our publishers, who on the basis of our insights develop mobile communications on our behalf.
 
When insights and technology are fused with humanities and design, it can create something of beauty. This, I feel, is Steve Jobs' greatest legacy and his recent passing makes this blog more relevant and poignant.
 
I'm sure former camera giants, such as Polaroid would have leapt at the idea of developing a similar tool to Instagram, had it been suggested by those responsible for raising brand awareness and connecting with their consumers. I mean, isn't that what we as marketers are supposed to do, right? Recognise trends and propose actions...
 
In the long history of media there have always been advancements in technology, which have been coupled with a creative leap in expression. We're in the midst of the latest technological leap... How are we as NGEN-ers going to meet it?

Joe Egan
Mindshare