Five Days of Digitas Predictions: Mobile

What's on the horizon for 2012? We surveyed leaders throughout Digitas to get their predictions for brands and marketers everywhere. This week, check out the five days of Digitas predictions. Today's post focuses on what's next for mobile marketing.

MOBILE

• We'll validate that the most valuable part of Social is Mobile. Mobile Facebook users are twice as engaged and as mobile platforms integrate social networks (e.g., Apple iOS and Twitter) and vice versa (e.g., the not-yet-public Facebook mobile app platform), we will see that the most influential members of social networks participate via mobile.

• Mobile commerce grows...shopping with mobile grows even faster. More brick-and-mortar retailers are taking advantage of mobile to grow sales at their stores. From Starbucks to Stop&Shop to Walgreens to Wal-Mart, retailers are combining the features of e-commerce (detailed product information, user reviews, easy comparison shopping) with the immediate gratification of buying it in-store. More and more shoppers will use their smartphones to support all aspects of their shopping journey.

• Paid media gets more sophisticated...and easier. Better measurement, tracking and targeting in 2012 (and beyond) will result in marketing dollars shifting to mobile paid media, growing the overall industry and encouraging more innovation. Moreover, more interesting opportunities to integrate brand and media properties’ content and utility will enhance creativity. In parallel, operational infrastructures for mobile media will mature thus reducing the logistical complexities of running sophisticated mobile media campaigns. 

• Brands start to sync across screens in real-time. 80% of smartphones owners are already using their devices while the TV is on. We can imagine any number of possibilities, from delivering a personalized offer to the viewer's mobile device as a brand spot plays on the TV to being part of the social conversation as the show unfolds. 2012 will be the year that it becomes practical for brands to fully participate in the multi-screen world.

- Chia Chen, SVP, Mobile Marketing Practice Lead

Want more? Check out yesterday's post, with predictions from Jordan Bitterman on what's next for social. And see what else Digitas leaders have to say about the industry on Digitas Perspectives.

Five Days of Digitas Predictions: Social

What's on the horizon for 2012? We surveyed leaders throughout Digitas to get their predictions for brands and marketers everywhere. This week, check out the five days of Digitas predictions, starting with what's next in social marketing.

SOCIAL

• Social commerce becomes a big deal.  Brands and retailers will both dig into a more serious direct-to-customer sales strategy.  Throughout 2011, the industry has seen a number of pilot programs testing user flow and efficacy of social selling.  To serve this need, start-ups have been popping up all around the social graph offering different ways in.  As brands find the right technologies and their followers on social networks become more comfortable with both the convenience and offers associated with buying directly within these channels, we expect abundant growth in the category.

• The most important part of mobile is social.  As U.S. smartphone penetration climbs towards 50 percent and beyond, social activities will grow as well.  The vast majority of mobile apps are either social at their core (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, GasBuddy) or have social functionality baked in (Pandora, games).  Considering that every phone is a connection device at its core, social connectivity will become more and more untethered in the coming year.

• Non-working investment will scale.  Over the past few years, clients have been dedicating trial dollars to initiatives beyond paid media: content creation, Facebook tabs, special access opportunities and offers outside of their core product offering. Driven by the need for value as the centerpiece of social initiatives and the proof that these initiatives work in achieving both marketing and business objectives, we expect these types of investments to scale even more in 2012.

- Jordan Bitterman, SVP, Social Marketing Practice Lead.

Want more? See what else Digitas leaders have to say about the industry on Digitas Perspectives.

The Launch of Twitter Brand Pages

Twitter has announced a redesign, including the launch of brand pages. What does this mean for marketers? Digitas' Donna Tocci, VP/Group Director, Social Marketing, has written a perspective to help us understand the new features and early implications - check it out below.

Digitas will keep a watchful eye on the redesign developments and will stay close to our partners at Twitter to ensure we understand how they impact and enhance our initiatives.

Donna Tocci - Twitter Brand Pages

Announcing Team Sprint

Exciting news: Sprint has announced Publicis Groupe, led by Digitas, as the new primary agency for the Sprint brand! The Sprint dedicated unit – Team Sprint – will be led by Tony Weisman, President, Digitas, and will manage brand strategy, advertising, digital, offline media, digital buying and analytics.

In the words of Colin Kinsella, CEO, Digitas North America:

"We’re thrilled to partner with Sprint and bring our focus on people, relationships and outcomes to their brand building. As a brand that lives and breathes innovation and has a strong commitment to connecting with its customers our complementary passions are well matched. We're ready and excited to get started."

This new partnership comes on the heels of our win with Dunkin' Donuts. You can learn more about the Sprint-Publicis Groupe partnership here.

Go Team Sprint!

Digitas Wins Best Agency For Integrated Media At iMedia Awards

We're excited to announce that Digitas has been named “Best Agency for Integrated Media” by iMedia Connection in their inaugural iMedia Agency Awards! The winners were decided by the public, so a big thank you to everyone who cast a vote for Digitas! We're honored by your support. And congratulations to our sister agencies, Starcom and Razorfish, who were also honored for "Campaign of the Year" and "Best Agency for Out-of-Home." 

2011 has been a great year for us, coming off OMMA Magazine's "Agency of the Year" win and Streaming Media Magazine's "The 100 Companies That Matter Most in Online Video." A big thank-you is in order for our employees - your talent, commitment, and in the words of iMedia, "ongoing passion for integration and bringing big, out-of-the-box ideas" is what makes our agency a winner.

So, thank you all! And see the full list of iMedia Agency Award winners here.