Mobile marketing in Australia has developed very strongly in recent years due to the growing interest in mobile phones and wireless services across the country. Approximately 82 percent of Australians own a mobile phone. This represents significant potential for the development of mobile marketing strategies. It generated from approximately 4 billion dollars in 1998 to nearly 15 billion dollars in profit in 2004. Industry analysts predict further revenue growth in the mobile marketing sector through 2007.
Australians and mobile phones
In 2001, Morgan Research conducted studies according to which 70 percent of Australians owned or had access to a mobile phone. Meanwhile, “The Sydney Morning Herald” reported that in August 2004, this number rose to 82 percent, which amounts to over 16 million people using 15.4 million mobile phones across the country. Furthermore, Australia ranks third in the world in terms of the number of SMS messages sent. With 94 percent of marketing SMS messages read (!) and 24 percent forwarded to friends (according to www.enpocket.com), the mobile marketing market seems to be a huge opportunity for companies that want to promote and sell their products and services. Scientific studies and company publications that I have analyzed for the purposes of this article show a great diversity in marketing campaigns using mobile services. Some companies succeeded, others did not. It is very easy to get carried away after analyzing these dizzying statistics and believe that “we must do this in our company too” using mobile marketing, without taking into account other options and the laws governing a business.
Mobile marketing strategies
For the company iTouch Australia, mobile marketing is a “suite of products providing companies with the ability to conduct marketing communication in the mobile space and place their brand directly in the consumer’s pocket”.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty” 2/2005.