Mobile advertising "for dummies". A guide to the world of pocket marketing

Today, a smartphone has become more than just a device — it's a miniature universe that accommodates work, entertainment, shopping, and millions of memes. And it is into this universe that advertisers are trying to get while the user is aimlessly scrolling through the social media feed with his morning coffee.

The mobile advertising market has become a true titan of digital marketing. Smartphones have become the main entry point to the Internet for billions of people. But how can you tame mobile advertising and not go broke? And why have programmatic platforms like UMG become the main tool for conquering the mobile audience?

Mobile advertising is any advertisements that a user sees on the screen of their phone or tablet: in apps, browser, social networks, games, and other mobile services.

It can be text, banner, video, native, or even in the format of mini-games. The main goal is always the same — to attract attention and encourage the user to take action: click on the link, place an order, install the app, or at least start associating your brand with something useful.

What tasks does mobile advertising solve:

1. Generating leads and orders
2. Brand awareness growth
3. Promotion of new products and services
4. Conducting surveys and research campaigns
5. Increase repeat purchases through personalized offers

It is mobile advertising that allows you to meet your audience where they spend the most time. The audience won't "come" to your site — they need to be caught right in the endless scrolling feed.

Mobile devices are an ideal platform for advertising, and here's why:

1. Accurate targeting. Advertising algorithms know the user: what they are interested in, and what they searched for yesterday in the search engine, which sweatshirt they bought on the marketplace, and where they went on vacation.
2. Hyperception. More than half of all Internet traffic in the world is on mobile devices. You are literally in the customer's pocket.
3. Interactivity. Mobile advertising not only shows the picture, but also engages. You can click on it, complete a mini-game, answer a survey, etc.
4. Response rate. Users respond to ads almost instantly, which means they can quickly test hypotheses and optimize campaigns in real time.

Choosing a format is like choosing shoes: comfort and relevance are important. Mobile advertising has both universal solutions and highly specialized ones.

The most popular mobile advertising formats:

1. Banners. Text and graphic blocks placed in applications and on websites. A simple and cheap format suitable for tests.
2. Native advertising. It is embedded in the content and looks like a part of it. Almost invisible, but effective.
3. Video ads. Prerolls, midrolls, stories, short clips — everything that instantly catches the attention.
4. Audio ads. Videos on streaming platforms, podcasts, and music services.
5. Interstitial ads. They appear between pages or levels in the app, take up the entire screen, and are perfectly engaging.
6. Game ads. Mini-games that simulate gameplay. One of the most engaging formats, especially in the "children's" categories.
7. Personalized messages. SMS, push and instant messengers with promo codes, promotions and discounts.

Test multiple formats at once to find a bundle that will engage your audience.

Mobile advertising is not only about banners and budgets, but also about the entire infrastructure of participants:

1. Brands. Those who pay for advertising.
2. Agencies. Intermediaries who create creatives and manage campaigns.
3. Publishers (publishers). Sites, applications, and platforms where ads are displayed.
4. Advertising networks. They aggregate advertising platforms and sell their inventory to brands.
5. Advertising exchanges. Automate the purchase and sale of ads in real time using the RTB protocol.

Programmatic platforms are increasingly being used to automate the purchase of mobile ads. If you already have websites or apps with decent traffic, try UMG's tools and start making money from mobile advertising right now.

Mobile advertising is not only a powerful tool, but also a territory of increased attention to detail. It has both obvious advantages and non-obvious risks.

Positive:

1. Huge reach. Almost everyone has a smartphone.
2. Personalization. You can reach narrow segments.
3. High profitability. The conversion rate is higher and the cost of attraction is lower.
4. Flexibility. You can quickly test different hypotheses and formats.

Minuses:

1. Increasing privacy requirements.
2. Limited screens. Smartphones already have displays above 6 inches on average, but it's still difficult to fit a lot of details on it. If the creative is overloaded, the user loses interest.
3. "Organic" fraud. Some ad engines have buttons that are too small to close ads. There will be a transition, but there will be no results.

1. Define the purpose of the campaign
The most common mistake of beginners is to launch without a specific goal. Do you want to increase awareness? Increase the number of orders? Reduce user churn? Formulate measurable goals: for example, "increase the number of app installs by 20% in three months." This will allow you to evaluate how well the ad works at all.

2. Analyze your audience and competitors
Collect data about the behavior and interests of your target audience, study the offers of competitors and their advertising creatives. This is necessary in order not to shoot sparrows with a cannon and not compete in loyalty with brands that play in a different weight category.

3. Set up accurate targeting
The more accurate the hit, the cheaper the result is.UMG's programmatic platform, for example, uses data on demographics, behavior, location, and user interests to serve ads to those who are really inclined to buy.

4. Optimize your creatives for mobile devices
What looks good on a desktop can turn into mush on a smartphone. Keep in mind that the user is holding the phone with one hand, scrolling quickly, and you only have a couple of seconds of his attention.

5. Keep an eye on the quality of the product
Advertising won't save a bad app or website. Even an ideal campaign is meaningless if the user encounters bugs or eternal downloads from the very first screen.

6. Manage your budget and results
Don't try to invest your entire budget on the first day. Launch campaigns gradually, test formats, monitor effectiveness, and turn off what doesn't work.

Nowadays, technology is becoming obsolete faster. And mobile advertising is no exception. It is already changing right before our eyes.

1. Personalization will become mandatory
The world is moving from mass messages to individual offers. To survive, brands will have to speak to each user in their own language. Based on interests, behavior, and location. UMG's AdTech ecosystem already allows you to launch personalized campaigns using flexible targeting and creatives tailored to audience segments.

2. The growing role of proprietary data
With the departure of cookies and stricter privacy rules, companies will have to collect and store data about their customers on their own: through subscriptions, registrations, and CRM. This first-party data will form the basis for accurate targeting and personalization. If you don't have your own data, you won't have a future in mobile advertising.

3. Integration of advertising into everyday interfaces
The line between content and advertising will blur. Ads will increasingly appear not as a separate banner, but as part of an application interface, mini-game, story, or audio stream. The user will not perceive it as an "advertisement" — and this will increase engagement and loyalty.

4. Market consolidation
Mobile advertising is becoming expensive and complex. Major players continue to buy up studios, platforms, and advertising networks for the sake of user data and reach. For small businesses, this means one thing: the sooner you connect to a large programmatic system like UMG, the higher your chances of not being left out.

Mobile advertising is not about "let's try and see", but about systematic work with data, creatives and technologies. This is one of the most powerful channels to attract and retain an audience, if used wisely.Programmatic platforms like UMG provide businesses with tools that previously were only available to corporations: accurate targeting, automated traffic purchase, and flexible analytics.This means that even small projects can compete for user attention on an equal footing with the giants, provided they act strategically.