• by Anne Czernek , June 26, 2013

As an advertising channel, mobile has proven to be effective: the average mobile campaign has a positive branding impact at a magnitude of 2-5x that of online. A number of factors contribute to the strength of mobile as a branding medium:

• The size of the ad relative to the size of the screen
• More focused ad copy and content due to size or technology constraints
• Consumer acceptance of mobile advertising
• Better targeting

Mobile works - but metrics have stabilized

As the medium has matured, the novelty factor has worn off. Whereas advertisers could once count on the novelty of the format to excuse executional wrinkles, poor mobile advertising can now have a negative brand impact. Creative quality matters more than ever: there is a large variation between the best and worst-performing campaigns.

The risks and rewards of media targeting

No campaign’s success hinges on the quality of its creative alone. Generally, we consider media and creative to be the two significant, if variable, factors in determining the outcome of a paid advertising campaign. Better media targeting is one of mobile’s strengths -- on average, mobile campaigns deliver within the target just over half of the time, compared to one-third of the time for online.

However, while effective media targeting can boost campaign performance, it does not ameliorate the effects of bad creative. Moreover, poor targeting can suppress the success of otherwise good campaigns and exacerbate the detrimental impact of bad campaigns.

This variance is best explained by the synergy of creative and media. The best creative, delivered on target, will have greater success, while poor creative shows poor results regardless, but especially when targeted inefficiently. We see that the best-performing brand campaigns consistently feature the following elements: 

1. Persistent branding
2. A simple, bold, legible color palette
3. Short, focused messaging
4. Offers with tangible value

Clear and persistent branding builds brand awareness

Consistent with our online creative best practices, our mobile research demonstrates that clear and persistent branding is crucial for building brand awareness and ad recall. Unlike TV, a full logo should be present in every frame of the digital creative, which resides in a space where consumers’ eyes move quickly over the screen, briefly glancing at pieces of content.

Striking colors can drive ad recall, as long as the ad is legible

The best-performing mobile ads used at least one -- but no more than two -- bright colors. This clean creative layout can be eye-catching without being visually cluttered. Distinguishing the call-to-action on a separate “button” can also be helpful. Legibility is key -- white or light text can be difficult to read, especially against a dark background. Conversely, black text on white backgrounds is readable, yet may fail to generate enough stopping power, as the ads may blend in with sites’ editorial content.

Focus on concise messaging

As a general rule, fewer words can be worth more brand impact. The most successful mobile creative tends to limit messages to no more than two messages -- including the tagline! Be conscious of mobile’s small format and find efficiencies where possible; if the brand’s name is very clearly legible in the logo, you may not need to repeat it in the copy.

Consumers seek a value exchange in mobile

Our AdReaction work shows that consumers are more willing to tolerate marketers’ presence on their mobile devices when they receive something in return. Similarly, we see that tangible offers (coupons, games, or useful information) can yield high impact in mobile advertising, especially on lower funnel metrics like Purchase Intent. Interactive elements (such as a social media call-to-action) can further deepen engagement.

Conclusions and next steps

These principles span the range of traditional brand metrics, allowing for flexibility in tailoring creative executions to specific campaign goals. While employing any single one -- or even all four -- is no guarantee for success, marketers can use this as guide to better align creative executions with strategic campaign outcomes. Successful mobile creative is mindful of the small format, but also realistic about consumer attention to and engagement with advertising in a very personal space.

To expand on the creative possibilities of mobile, we partnered with the IAB and our qualitative practice, Firefly Millward Brown, on A Mobile Manifesto: Creative Leaders on the Art of Successful Mobile Brand Messaging, which was released at Cannes Lions last week.