Mobile Advertising Needs To Get Moving

Writing in The Huffington Post, Sal Candela, Director of Mobile for PHD Media, asks why the mobile ad space is so underutilized:

Mobile is different. Mobile can ask a consumer to do something — touch it, tap it, say something, watch something. But most importantly it can react based upon that person’s response. For example, we can ask people to tap a button in an ad and then bring them to a map of all the retail locations that carry a certain product, even providing directions on how to get there.

Mobile cannot use the sense of smell… yet! But it can use any combination of these other elements to deliver a powerful brand experience that resonates with the consumers’ senses. As agencies and marketers, we should always be thinking about how we can use these things to bring ads to life.

Lots of marketers are still figuring out mobile. Between multiple platforms, the idea of a brand app or simply advertising on apps, and the ultimate goals of mobile (awareness vs. action), it’s more complex than other mediums. But the use of mobile devices is growing, so you can bet that if there’s money to be made, agencies won’t ignore mobile for long.

What types of mobile advertising have caught your attention? Are your clients asking for mobile to be a part of a campaign, or something different altogether? Do you enable push notifications on your phone? (I know I generally don’t, I don’t want the constant alerts.)