2011 Mobile Budgets allocating “More Mobile”

September 13, 2010

“2011 is the year for More Mobile,” David Geipel, Founder

As the end of the third quarter comes to a close this year, corporate budgets are being reviewed and Mobile is finally getting respect within the organization from the top down. However, as this new channel continues to grow, departments are beginning to take a closer look at where they can grow and how they can save using mobile messaging, marketing and mobile apps.

In the past, most marketers took from digital budgets to fund a mobile.

For 2011, budgets have grown from single campaigns to funding a complete mobile strategy. This has created the need to create a new line item on the budget so companies can graduate mobile from an “emerging technology” to a proven channel – it’s own format.

WRESTLING BUDGETS
How are companies wrestling money from other budgets? Many take it from digital budgets. That type of thinking though is short sighted as digital marketing and interactive services all achieve different goals to drive sales, increase retention and even reclaim lost revenue through cost savings. Many agencies are adding to the complex budget process by pulling in dollars for their “digital agency” where these monies typically get put into distinct components of a budget leaving little room for mobile. What is fueling most of the mobile spend within these agencies is shifting the budget from traditional media to digital.

THE SHIFT
As spending shifts from traditional media to digital media and mobile, new lines will be expanded on budgets to better clarify the type of spending. This will lead to a greater need for mobile analytics and reporting. How much is my iPhone App generating? What is the ROI for my Mobile Advertising campaigns? What is the lift in spend from my customers receiving SMS Alerts on a daily basis? ROI tracking will become another budget requirement within the digital category. While many agencies push back on measurement, studies and direct spend to return calculations, companies will demand greater oversight and results from their investments.

According to a MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) survey released in June 2010, they found that marketers in the US plan to increase spending on mobile 124% next year – up from $2.3 billion to $5.5 billion – with a budget allocation for mobile representing almost 4% of overall marketing budgets. That total includes paid and unpaid mobile segments including SMS, mobile websites, location-based services, mobile video and mobile email. Forrester, on the contrary predicts US spending on mobile marketing will grow from $561 million this year to $748 million in 2011.

It’s time to start planning your 2011. It’s time to get MORE mobile.