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ADVERTISING, OPINION

By Shaun Gregory, Global Director of Advertising, Telefonica Digital

You have probably heard me go-on about how exciting the mobile advertising market is right now in Latin America. However, despite its incredible potential, today LatAm accounts for just 0.6% of global mobile advertising revenue (source: IAB).

So what is holding it back?

Myth 1

We often hear that ‘Latin America isn’t ready for mobile advertising’. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, research from WIN/GIA demonstrates that consumers in the region are far more positive about mobile advertising than consumers in either Western Europe or North America. Yes, the market is currently much smaller there than in other regions but if the audience perceives the value in mobile advertising and is open to it, that signifies huge potential and market readiness.

Myth 2

‘Smartphone penetration is not high enough for mobile advertising’. This makes an assumption that all mobile advertising revolves around the smartphone when in fact there are plenty of formats that work very well on feature phones. Regardless of smartphone or feature phone, mobile penetration across the region is at 100% and usage is very high with the average user spending 55 minutes per day on their mobile compared to the global average of 42 mins. If your targeting is right and you use formats tailored to the right devices, then there are no barriers to running mobile campaigns in the region. As an example, SMS messaging formats are available now in the market and capable of reaching any device.

Myth 3

‘mobile can’t be integrated into the media plan’. If used in the right way mobile can transform a media campaign to make it dynamic and always on. Our experience has shown that when mobile is added to other mediums it drives much more budget effectiveness. For example, £2 spent on TV and £2 spent on mobile will deliver £7 worth of value

Myth 4

‘you can’t prove ROI on mobile’. Mobile is actually one of the most measurable media there is. It’s extremely straightforward to measure metrics such as call rates, click-through rates and downloads and in the case of mobile you can measure these against the specific audience you know to have been exposed to the message. Plus with mobile surveys you can measure metrics such as purchase intent, brand awareness and campaign affinity. A great example is a campaign we ran for Pizzaria Monte Verde in Brazil using postcode and time targeting with a click to call mechanic. For this campaign we were able to demonstrate a 300% rise in sales in 3 months.

These are just some of the myths around mobile adverting both in Latin America and to some extent more generally. However we know from over six years in this business in Europe and one year in Latin America that the market is ready, there are a range of creative formats available for a range of devices and brands and advertisers are already seeing the power that mobile can deliver in integrated campaigns.

The promise of mobile advertising is clear: we have all the ingredients that could make it the most powerful consumer engagement and advertising medium in history – reach, frequency, intimacy and insight. Telefonica is dedicated to help advertisers pioneer this change, so let’s get to it and make advertising work better in LatAm.