​Brands, unwrap your holiday season gift!

It is that time of the year that Brands and shopaholics look forward to. This holiday season, more than any other, Brands can look forward to a powerful gift; for shopping is all set to be mobile-fueled.

• eMarketer estimates that US mobile sales will grow by 37.3%, more than twice the rate of e-commerce overall.
• Nearly 19% of digital sales and 1.2% of all retail sales in the US in 2014 will come from mobile devices.
• eMarketer estimates that UK retail m-commerce sales grew by triple digits in 2013 and will post a further 65.6% jump this year.
• Mobile commerce will account for a substantial share of total UK retail e-commerce in the coming years—27.0% this year, almost one-third by 2015 , and near 40% by 2018.

Mobile meshes together our personal and professional lives, providing endless opportunities for brands marketers. Mobile’s ubiquitous nature, coupled with smarter phones, better technology, and high bandwidth provides brands with a highly nuanced understanding of customer intent and insights around purchasing decision patterns.

Mobile usage is at an all-time high, and the shift to mobile is on. According to InMobi’s Mobile Media Consumption Study, mobile phones and tablets together grab an ever-increasing share of time with all media—potentially at the expense of online media and TV. Globally, consumers now spend an average of almost 2.2 hours per day with mobiles and tablets, which together account for 37% of media time - ahead of television, computer usage, print, and radio.

Source: Global Mobile Media Consumption Wave 3, InMobi 2014

Apart from capturing a greater share of consumer time spent on media, Mobile is proving to be very effective for advertising. According to a global study by BBC World, mobile advertising has proved to be twice as effective as desktop among the general population and up to four times more effective when targeted towards affluent consumers.

Brand advertising myths

Across several conversations with advertisers and marketers, the reasons cited for Brands advertising not keeping pace with consumer preferences included fragmentation of mobile devices, the lack of dependable metrics and measurement standards of mobile ad-effectiveness, and rudimentary targeting techniques on mobile.

With Mobile, Brands can really score this holiday season

Brands need more than a traditional marketing campaign, and should be actively considering mobile as a medium to reach their audiences. Technological advances allow marketers the opportunity to design ad creatives in a manner that truly utilizes the power of mobile, while delivering the brand message in a compelling way.

For instance, advertisers can leverage richer ad formats such as mobile video, in-app full screen ads, interstitials, rich media ads and native ads. Target consumers can be reached in relevant contexts with Audience targeting and Geo-context based targeting. Real Time Bidding (RTB) has helped improve accuracy levels of campaigns – advertisers are now able to bid intelligently on mobile ad inventory in a cost effective and efficient manner. Finally, the best brands will continue to invest in mobile because it guarantees ROI.

We are at a tipping point where being mobile-first is a business priority not just for marketers targeting Millennials but for any brand that wants to forge a deep and lasting connection with its consumers. Get ready to launch your big holiday campaign on mobile and watch Santa bring some real cheer to both your business and your consumers. Happy Holidays!

To learn more about holiday marketing for your brand, visit http://www.inmobi.com/brand/