Mobile Magic: The Saatchi and Saatchi Guide to Mobile Marketing and Design

Chapter 18: The Future

In a field as fast-moving and dynamic as this, it’s hard to make specific predictions without taking a few shots in the dark. But as a marketer, the details of technological development aren’t your main concern. You want to keep track of the patterns and look for the signal in the noise. What types of content people consume on their mobile devices, what devices they use, what social media platforms they use to share, and where they are when they’re doing all this to list a few. Pay attention to new handheld devices, the companies who are making them and the platforms and operating systems that make them work.

The Language of Mobile

You know how when you’re talking to someone who doesn’t quite understand your language you might find yourself raising your voice or even shouting? It doesn’t actually do any good, but it makes you feel like you’re getting some kind of message across. That’s how the early adopters on a new medium tend to talk: They don’t quite know how to communicate, because they haven’t yet figured out the syntax and protocol of this new communication channel, so they try to make up for what they lack in quality with spammish, loud quantity. “That sounds terrible!” you’re probably thinking. “Not to mention needlessly expensive! I think I’ll wait until other people figure out how to talk on this new medium before I jump in.” That may seem like the smart move to make, but the truth is if you wait until people better understand a new medium before ...