What: Cowen and Company 41st Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference
When: Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Where: New York Palace Hotel – 455 Madison Avenue., New York City
* Jumptap CEO George Bell will speaking on “The Future of Digital Advertising” panel at from 1:00-1:55pm.

By Nat Taylor, Digital Marketing Manager, Jumptap

Unification seemed to be the central theme of this year’s Mobile Media Upfront, held this past Monday in NYC. Right from the beginning, with Mondelez’s VP of Global Media and Consumer Engagement Bonin Bough, almost every discussion mentioned unifying campaigns and audiences across screens. Bough, who in 2012 made it a priority to allocate 10% of ad spend at Mondelez to mobile, kicked things off with the notion that “success = reach.” Then, with a series of questions, definitively proved that all of the attendees were frequent mobile users and therefore asserted that if campaigns aren’t mobile, they’re missing out on reach. Throughout the day, the rest of the 80+ speakers built on this point. We identified three central themes about unification.

Audience

Over 1,000 advertising professionals from brands, agencies, publishers and technology providers descended on the New World Stages. A striking note was that these weren’t “mobile specialists” – they were more all-encompassing digital marketers, who interacted with all sides of the business, including mobile but also including online, connected TV and more. Conversations seemed to range from the nitty-gritty of executing campaigns across screens to the challenge of extending all campaigns into mobile, suggesting that there was a good mix of online and mobile-focused experts in the house.

Screens

The event dedicated an entire panel to device screens with speakers from Mobext, Activision, Meredith and, last but not least, Jumptap. The all-star crew, representing the agency, technology and publisher sides, each delivered a unique perspective on reaching consumers on different screens, but the central theme was clear: it’s increasingly important. Meredith’s Doug Rozen focused on overcoming the assumption that we use all screens the same, and therefore must design for context and features, not by screen size. Jonathan Anastas pointed out that Activision’s audience is already almost 50% mobile and therefore always tries to build everything cross-screen from the start. Mobext’s Andrew Hoffman debated the idea of “mobile first” and instead suggested that some cases may not be truly mobile first, but that no matter what mobile activity trickles down and affects behavior on all screens. Jumptap’s Chief Product Officer Adam Soroca highlighted that now that the technology exists, marketers have to embrace cross-screen and extend their campaigns to reach audiences on every screen.

Strategies

The speakers also seemed to agree on the idea that strategies and planning had to be unified.  Several panelists noted how they had unified groups inside their agencies so that instead of having TV, online and mobile plans, they had roundtables where all of these groups came together early in the planning process to launch campaigns that reached audiences on every screen.

Were you there?  What did you think of the conference?  Leave us a note in the comments.  And if you missed it, don’t hesitate to reach out.

 By Ted McNulty, Director of Performance Ad Sales, Jumptap

When it comes to generating mobile leads, many direct response marketers try to simply leverage their online strategy. If you have ever tried this, or worked on a team that has, you know it brings mixed results. Your customers use mobile in fundamentally different ways than they use their desktop computers, and your mobile strategy needs to reflect that. By making a few simple changes to your thinking, you can start generating more mobile leads right away. Here are some great ways to get started.

1. Throw Away Your Web Form
   The biggest mistake many direct response marketers make when testing mobile for the first time is using a mobile optimized version of their web form. We recommend you start from scratch, because mobile is different. Think of how you use your smartphone, and tailor your landing page to mobile experience. Mobile screens are bright but small, and typing is clumsy, so don’t try to fit too much and use drop downs whenever possible.

2. The Shorter the Better
   The shorter the form the better. Mobile is great for capturing initial interest from large volumes of users, but drop off on long forms is often high. Consider an extremely short form, and just gather email addresses or phone numbers.

3. Two Step Conversion Process
   Successful mobile direct response campaigns often involve a two-step conversion process. Again, think of how you use your smartphone: you might be standing in line or waiting for a walk-signal; you’re interested but don’t have time to explore something in detail. To overcome this, first gather contact information on a short form, which captures initial interest. Then, follow up through emails or phone calls to further qualify the lead.

4. Long Forms Can Work
   Long form lead generation is possible in mobile, and many companies are successfully doing this. The key to long form lead generation in mobile is breaking up the form into individual questions, and only displaying one question per page. Pre-populated fields and drop-down menus should be used as much as possible, and it needs to be easy for users to “swipe” to get to the next screen. It’s also important to let the user know where they are in the process, so they understand how many more pages they need to go through to complete the form (i.e. display: “Step 4 out of 8″.)

What other ways can you change your strategy for generating mobile leads? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Make way for mobile! Next week marks the beginning of Internet Week and the Mobile Media Upfront – events that connect the biggest and brightest players in the mobile and advertising ecosystems. Check out panels from Jumptap execs throughout the week:

Jumptap is a Gold Sponsor of the Mobile Media Upfront, one of the largest mobile marketing conferences in the country. 

Multi-Screen Panel (Track B): 12:20 – 12:50 p.m.

Cross-screen is taking the mobile ad industry by storm, and Jumptap is among those delivering campaigns for the largest brands. Check out Jumptap Chief Product Officer Adam Soroca on the ‘Multi-Screen’ (Track B) panel at 12:20 p.m., where he’ll weigh-in on the hot trend and offer insight into the best ways to reach audiences on any device. 

View from the Top: MDC Partners: 4:50-5:20 p.m.

Check back at 4:50 p.m. when Jumptap SVP of Sales Adam Chandler moderates the ‘View from the Top: MDC Partners’ panel.

• What: Mobile Media Upfront
• When: Monday, May 20
• Panels: Multi-Screen (Track B) at 12:20 p.m. & View from the Top: MDC Partners at 4:50 p.m.
• Where: New World Stages;  340 W 50th Street – New York, NY

Jumptap secured a spot in the coveted Internet Week line-up through the digital festival’s Make the Stage campaign. Thanks to all who voted!

Combating Device Schizophrenia – Get Your Message Heard Across Screens: 5:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Jumptap COO Frank Weishaupt joins execs from 24/7Media, Zenith Media and H&M to continue the cross-screen conversation at Internet Week. Check out their  panel ‘Combating Device Schizophrenia – Get Your Message Heard Across Screens’ at 5:00 p.m. on Stage A.

• What: Internet Week
• When: Wednesday, May 22
• Panel: Combating Device Schizophrenia – Get Your Message Heard Across Screens at 5:00 p.m.
• Where: Stage A; 125 West 18th Street – New York, NY

Interested in meeting up at the show? Let us know!

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