As smartphone penetration hits 72 per cent in the UK, with combined smart device ownership set to overtake that of laptop and desktop, Mobile Marketing asks the industry what the next challenges and opportunities for mobile marketing are.

“This time [spent on mobile] doesnt magically appear – its cannibalising time spent on other media,” warns Ross Sleight, chief strategy officer at Somo. “Thus its imperative for brands to integrate mobile into their marketing mix to ensure that they engage with users on their platforms of choice.” 

But this increase in usage across all age groups, as identified in Deloitte’s latest Consumer Review, doesn’t guarantee buy in, says Paul Childs, EMEA vice president and general manager at MobPub. “There are still three main challenges,” he tells Mobile Marketing. “The first is for digital advertising platforms to support the concept of cross-channel marketing. The second is to the determine attribution contribution across different touch points. The final challenge is for marketers to think cross-channel both in terms of how they plan and how they budget.”

Screen agnostic is ok, mobile-first is smart

Sleight agrees that if brands and marketers are not “at least platform agnostic, then they are missing being able to serve and engage customers on their platform of choice.” But he goes even further. “Those brands and marketers that are smart and thinking 18 to 36 months out are looking at a mobile-first strategy, as the inevitable rise of smartphones and tablets will lead to dominance by customer choice over desktop in this period,” he says.

“But its not just what is produced for and consumed upon mobile thats important. The new behaviours of smartphone consumers mean we need to follow and respond to customer usage of smartphones in the physical world. This could be dual screening in front of the TV, showrooming in physical retail locations, or augmenting traditional media such as press or outdoor.”

Mum marketers lead the way

Sienne Veit, head of mobile at Kiddicare, knows only too well what it’s like to work in a retail environment, among the “highly mobile” mum audience, and has ensured the mother and child retailer has stepped up its game. “Their busy, on-the-go lives mean that their mobile is their key tool, especially when shopping both online and in our stores,” she said. “This is why we provide free, in-store wi-fi and have explicit calls to action to use smartphones in store, as well as both a transactional mobile website and iOS app. We are continually looking at new ways in which to help parents get great products at unbeatable prices however, whenever and wherever they want to shop.”

10 years max for wearable to go mainstream

So what might those new ways be? “This is a very unusual time in that were simultaneously entering an era where the PC will no longer be the primary digital device, the creation of a mobile-centric world, and yet we can see that wearable computers are going to be the next big thing,” says Russell Buckley, VC with Ballpark Ventures and former Admob man. “The exponential impact of technology will mean that while the PC era lasted about 30 years, the transition from mobile to wearable will be much shorter – Id estimate 10 years at the most.”

Somo has been one of the lucky few agencies to get hold of a pair of Google Glass, hosting its first hack day last week. “We can see that the types of experiences currently being facilitated by smartphones are just the beginning in terms of this physical/digital augmentation – Glass takes it to a whole other level,” says Sleight.

“In the meantime,” Buckley adds, “smartphones and tablets will dominate both creation and consumption of digital media. Better screens and batteries, combined with huge increases in power and in the speed of the network will result in amazing pocket-sized computers and an unrivalled media experience that can be a platform for the mobile marketing of the future.”

One thing’s for sure: whether your smartphone looks like a phone, a watch, a pair of glasses or something as yet unimagined, the number of people using them is only heading one way. Any business that still hasn’t got that message needs to get its head out of the sand – fast.