Mobile advertising is immersed in an adolescent stage of its development. But yes, it is mature enough to prove its undeniable effectiveness, although it is so young that it has not yet overcome some childhood diseases.

As a direct response channel, the mobile moves, more than ever, the user to the output when it is immersed in the funnel of the purchase decision. And is that, more and more users on the street, in the store, on an empty stomach, make direct and imminent decisions about their purchases with their mobile phone. And the truth is that that purchase decision is greater from a mobile than when they are seated in front of a PC. According to a recent study by eMarketer ( “Mobile Display Advertising: Aspirations, Revelations and Frustrations” , November 2012), mobile phones achieved a click-through rate (CTR) 8 times higher than that of screens Of computers, and advertising attention levels were 5 times higher on mobile screens than on PCs.

Despite this, there are significant obstacles for mobiles. Due to the lack of cookies, which by default on mobile phones are disabled, it is difficult to carry out a measurement. In addition, audience targeting is still under development compared to desktop computers. The scope measurement is complicated and deduplication is almost impossible.

Fortunately, we already have solutions that help advertisers solve these shortcomings, until mobile phones inevitably develop to their full potential. They are ways of segmenting and measuring adapted to the unique nature of mobile phones. Here are some examples:

Target per domain: web versus app

Users can be differentiated according to their usage behavior: some tend to use websites and others, apps on their mobile. Advertisers should take these differences into account when planning to purchase advertising space.

Ads in apps are more expensive than on websites, but they offer users a platform to which they can return again and again, a persistent format that they can not ignore. On the other hand, ads on websites make more sense, in addition to being more economical, when the goal is to reach a user who has a specific and immediate need.

Involvement via device: mobile phone versus tablet

We also know that consumers use different format devices for different purposes. Mobile phones are the preferred option for hands-on activities anywhere, such as comparing prices, searching to find out what’s nearby, or killing time games. Tablets are often used more for online shopping or less local searches.

Scope with purchases: supports versus network

Advertisers can also mitigate the challenge of evaluating individual ads by adopting a strategic approach by buying advertising space on the network or online media. If you can afford some “blind” shopping to reach the widest possible audience, purchasing media targeting broad-based audience demographics, based on network or media data, may be ideal for your media plan. On the other hand, if your message is addressed to a specific audience or your brand is more sensitive, they agree to purchase advertising space on specific media.

Mobile is far from providing detailed segmentation and accurate measurement to which we are accustomed on larger screens, but advertisers can not afford to rest on their laurels. Leveraging the potential of all available media and thinking intuitively about mobile behavior, advertisers can begin to incorporate the mobile into their media plans (and budgets). It is an imperfect marketing medium, but it is still a very wise investment.