Last week, TMI was lucky enough to be invited to attend Google’s Think Mobile event – now in its 4th year running – and join the expert panel of industry leaders and digital mavericks in a full day immersion into all things mobile! Whilst the common theme throughout the day was clearly that 2013 will be the year for mobile, the speakers provided a variety of market insights, case studies and anecdotes – this post hopes to provide a summary of the best if these and provide a blow-by-blow of Google’s Think Mobile 2012. Just to keep things bite-sized, the post is broken into two parts – skip to part 2, or continue for part 1.
Ian Carrington
– Mobile Sales Director for EMEA, Google
” Mobile Share Of Youtube Views Has Doubled Every Year Since 2010
Peppered with astonishing statistics, Ian set the scene for the mobile landscape in 2012 and highlighted the double digit growth rates Google is seeing across the industry. Whilst a lot of these numbers aren’t surprising, the one that struck me was the large growth in YouTube views for Mobile – the mobile share of YouTube views now stands at 25% for 2012, up from just 6% in 2010! That’s roughly a 100% annual growth – a number that can surely only increase as 4G is fully rolled out in the UK and abroad. Another point that should have entrepreneurs salivating at the potential and make retailers worry about their future, is that as much as 17% of shoppers change their minds in store after comparing prices on their mobile! Whilst the original e-commerce revolution already put strain on retailers and their ability to compete on price, mobile comparison shopping aggravates this problem further. Will we see increased innovation in this field or will physical retailers slowly be forced out of business by their leaner online counterparts?
Patrick Goss & Gareth Beavis, – TechRadar ” Anti Piracy Laws won\’t stop Piracy – the fact that it’s inconvenient will.
From Ian’s very data centric presentation, the guys from TechRadar jump right into the current consumer market and of mobiles and tablets. Gareth throws gives an interesting spin on the current explosion in the adoption of tablets – what does a tablet actually do? Where does it add distinct value? Patrick is quick to provide the answer – the sticking point is convenience. He argues that convenience is at the heart of the incredible growth in mobile adoption and should be the core focus for any company thinking about expanding onto this platform.
James Hilton
– Founder & Chief Creative Office, AKQA ” Advertising must provide more contribution and less pollution
Picking up the thread of convenience, James argues that advertising must provide “more contribution and less pollution”. He showcases some of AKQA’s recent work, from driving Nike’s sportswear brand to a new level to engaging thousands of sports fans with the Heineken Star Player campaign. The common thread throughout these is adding value (or “contribution”) and James provides amazing real-life example of how mobile innovation can be used to create truly engaging and memorable consumer experiences. He also delivered what for most people must’ve been the quote of the day: ”Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you’ll suck forever” – Brian Wilson.
Simon Forster – Director, Debenhams.com at Debenhams
“ Customers don’t necessarily know what they want. They want the solution, even if they’re not yet aware of the problem.”
Simon’s opening sentences really summarises the challenge faced by many traditional companies – Debenhams has been in business since 1778 and for 230 years they’re business model has been “they come, we service them, and they leave”. Now with Mobile essentially allowing consumers to turn some of these core tenants on their heads, it’s forcing a major shift – both from a traditional and structural perspective. They have faced many challenges in integrating the mobile experience into their core business model. In order to allocate and determine ROI fairly, Debenhams hasupdated their in-store bonuses and incentives for sales staff to make sure that mobile gets credit if it’s part of the conversion process. The success of Mobile expansion has allowed Debenhams to offer more and more choice online and on mobile, and the opportunity is only limited by the brand.
