BARCELONA — Mobile phones have rebooted the marketing landscape – but brands can now exploit the new possibilities they offer.
That is according to a marketing chief from one of the biggest brand groups in the world.
“Mobile is not a device anymore – it’s a lifestyle shift,” says P&G EMEA marketing VP Sophie Blum, in this video interview with Beet.TV at Mobile World Congress. “That’s what is exciting.
“Of course, it’s challenging – it’s a small screen, 12 seconds is a luxury. It requires mastery of technology together with the art of understanding.
“What is exciting is the opportunity for brand masters and tech to collaborate in order to create better answers to consumer needs, wherever they want at their own terms.”
Mobile World Congress is no longer just the world’s largest mobile expo and conference. It has grown rapidly in recent years to become one of a clutch of four or five global mega-conferences attracting execs and hangers-on from all kinds of industries.
Beside distinctly non-phone hardware on show, MWC’s main headlines were Nokia’s reintroduction of its classic 3310 handset (a move suggesting mobile launches themselves have run out of steam) and new smartphones that have less bezel and more screen.
TechCrunch writes MWC is now about “general connectivity as well as the devices and services which will connect our world in the future”. And, just as brands and ad agencies flock to the Consumer Electronics Show these days, so, too, is Mobile World Congress now a big draw for ad-land.
Those bigger screens may give brands more real estate through which to reach consumers. But, speaking with Beet.TV at Mobile World Congress, Sir Martin Sorrell – CEO of the world’s largest ad agency holding group, WPP – says mobile ad spend lags behind consumers’ on-device time because the technology is not yet attractive enough for the buy side.
This video was produced in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress 2017. The series is sponsored by Turner. Please visit this page for additional segments from MWC.
