Shopper Marketing Summit takes place in Durban, South Africa

Today the Shopper Marketing Summit took place in Durban, South Africa, the audience consisted of representatives from local advertising agencies, as well as marketing and brand managers from large retailers based in the city such as Mr Price. InMobi gave the delegates a sneak preview of research we are conducting in the retail industry in South Africa, which uncovers how consumers are using their mobile devices before they go shopping, while they are shopping and after they are shopping. The research also investigates consumer sentiment to sharing their location, and what type of incentive they would expect if they share their location, such as an instant discount. The clear theme for the day related to content; brands need to be producing relevant and engaging content in order to connect with their market. And they need to make it easy for their followers to share. Mobile plays an important part when it comes to content, it is a perfect platform to receive it, share it and store it. When it comes to mobile advertising, agencies are quick to always want to drive return on investment through lead generation, but driving consumers to content and building a relationship with these consumers should be seen as even more valuable so next time they are ready to buy a car, a new shirt or deodorant, they have an affiliation to your brand. Alan Bell, from Hardby Boys presented one of the best case studies of the day, which showed how a SAB Miller beer, Carling Black Label, engaged their market by allowing them to be the football coach, and select the players via a USSD interface for a real football match. In 7 weeks, they had 10.5 million votes, and ticket sales for the match broke all previous records. In order to compile a team, the consumer had to have a code provided on the beer bottle, so not only did the brand engage their customers, but they also drove sales. Look out for the results of the InMobi Mobile in Retail Research conducted in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt which will be released in 3 weeks time.