Question of the Week: Does Mobile Advertising Work Better Than Desktop Advertising?

Yep.

And here's why.

Decision-Making Is A Built-In Element of Being Mobile 

When we’re mobile, we have to decide where we’re going, how we’re getting there, whether to run the yellow light to get there faster, what we’re going to buy when we get there, etc. 

There’s no other medium that has us so steeped in choices that require immediate action. Meanwhile, desktop decision-making is often resting on a search bar. Or downright sleeping.

Consider this.

Mobile Advertising Is of Higher Quality

It has to be. Because mobile users will not tolerate advertising blocking any content on their screens that could

be vital to their enlightenment or current social plans. 

Mobile advertising has to be more about quality than volume. It has to be engaging without being needy. Less is more, and all that good stuff. 

Otherwise, it’s going to serve only to irritate users and will soon be blocked with true Gary "The Glove" Payton mastery.

Mobile Advertising Is More Cost Effective

It’s true. 

Back in 2012, venture capitalist, former Wall Street analyst and internet maven Mary Meeker researched the numbers and came up with this: 

The effective cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for desktop web ads is about $3.50, while the CPM for mobile ads is just $0.75.

Another mobile ad platform broke down the numbers even further for mobile ads by device. They found that the iPhone has the highest average CPM for mobile ads of any smartphone. Not shocking. But at $2.85, it still falls short of that CPM for web ads on a desktop. 

On a completely unrelated note, print ads can command rates of as much as $100 per thousand impressions. Yeah. Ouch.

Mobile Advertising Is Just More Relevant

We’re gonna go out on a limb and assume you don’t take your desktop computer with you wherever you go. (But if you do, no judgment.) So location specific targeting is not an option with desktop advertising. 

Obviously, the more accurately you can target your advertising and the more engaging the experience, the more effective the advertising will be. 

For example, imagine this:

You’re in Paducah, Kentucky. Why? Let’s just say because the National Quilt Museum is there and you’re really into national quilts.

Anyhow, it’s late afternoon and you’re walking up Jefferson Street after a long stroll on the Riverwalk. You decide to look for a place to grab some chow. 

You search your phone for “restaurant" and you immediately see an ad for Paducah’s hottest happy hour spot, which happens to be two blocks away on the left and has a very hip patio. Based on where you are, the time of the day and the fact that it’s a gorgeous day, it sounds perfect. It must be kismet!

Or maybe it’s more that your phone is seriously savvy. It knows where you are, knows that the weather where you are is patio-worthy, and knows that it’s happy hour where you are. As another big plus, the ad offers a discount code for one free national quilt replica if you spend $10.00 or more. 

Okay, dynamic mobile ads haven’t hit quite this level of sophistication yet. But they’re pretty close.

The Caveat of Mobile Advertising

There is a responsibility on the part of advertisers to be mindful of customers’ privacy. This is especially true when it comes to formats like SMS, social networks and location-based mobile advertising. They’re still potential customers, not your BFFs. 

The reality is, it's almost unfair to measure mobile advertising against desktop advertising because it's a DIFFERENT form of advertising. Mobile devices are considered more personal. And since there is less real estate available, it raises the stakes for which disruptions mobile users are willing to accept.

Mobile advertising gives marketers opportunities to reach audiences in a meaningful way like never before. 

And creative advertisers will take this and fly with it. (Or drive with it. Or walk with it...)