Who’s that on the phone?

Mitt Romney, US Presidential candidate, may have chosen his vice president, but an Indian games company, Games2Win, is helping consumers still pick one. On the heels of the announcement, that the US potential had chosen his potential, Games2win released its online game, appropriately named the ‘Romney Veep Dating Game’.

The company applied the laws of speed dating to create an unprecedented system, which makes finding the perfect (running) mate a snap. It also includes some surprises to keep voters on their toes, not just in the US where the game has turned out to be a hit, but also in India.

As Justin Molyneaux, executive games producer of Games2win, USA says, ``Now that there has been so much excitement around Mitt Romney’s choice of VP and he has made his choice official, there’s bound to be many people disappointed with his selection. So Games2win has taken the lead in creating a satirical game that gives power to the people to decide.''

Power DOES rest with the people. A consumer’s cell phone is becoming a powerful opportunity for marketers to influence behaviour, build loyalty and drive purchase. Mobiles appear to be changing the face of brand communication.

``Mobiles are increasingly becoming a key touchpoint for our core and growth audiences. Brands are using the mobile as a medium to advertise effectively. Many smart brands have started investing in this exciting medium,'' says Sunny Nagpal, managing director and co-founder, Httpool India, an online advertising provider.

With a current market size at about $56 million, the market is set to explode and grow to 50-60 per cent annually over the next few years. With 900 million mobile phone users in India, the market is anything but saturated. Mobile penetration dwarfs both landlines and PCs in the country, making the mobile channel the obvious one for meeting the growing digital information and entertainment needs of the vast market.

Most major corporate brands now have long-term mobile programmes. Several specialist advertising and marketing agencies are working with brands to ensure that mobile is integrated into their media channels to enable maximum touch points for the advertising campaign.

From basic mobiles which provide Internet access (2G) to a large section of the population, to smartphones and advanced handsets, consumers are increasingly using their handsets to create a very personal mobile world. And brands are vying with each other to earn a place in this inner circle of trust.

In the telecom sector, mobile advertising has really picked up, with companies like Vodafone and Docomo spending aggressively to promote their VAS (value added services) products. Other initiatives like Nokia and RockeTalk’s Mobile Antakshari app have also seen high engagement.

However, the uniqueness of mobile advertising is allowing companies to target specific billable consumers of a particular telecom operator, which allows users to purchase or subscribe to a VAS product by clicking on the banner.

Other sectors that have caught the fancy are automobile brands like Ford, Fiat and Maruti, which are among major spenders. Companies in the finance, travel, lifestyle, and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) sector are also trying to play catch up.

Like P&G’s mobile marketing innovation, which has spread across Asia Pacific. The FMCG major has used mobile marketing in all major Asian countries, from Japan, China, to India and Australia. It considers the mobile phone a powerful engagement channel for establishing and nurturing consumer loyalty and did so with its Pampers programme, which allowed the company to reach out to mothers and help them to bring up and nurture their children.

OMD, an integrated communications agency delivering media and marketing solutions globally and in India, and who manages clients like Hindustan Unilever (HUL), also has a dedicated team for all mobile buys.

In an earlier instance, a cricket related mobile magazine called `Cricket Dressing Room' was launched and used to build engagement for Vaseline men's face wash through a presenting sponsorship initiative. HUL recognised the uniqueness and scalability of the concept and had Vaseline as a founding sponsor for the mobile magazine. The platform was chosen to be used by HUL to announce the launch of their new men's face wash.

With mobile search changing how we shop and making pricing transparent, for a real-world retailer that might mean matching a price that a shopper has found elsewhere on their mobile phone.

As Httpool's Nagpal admits, ``The current smartphones greatly enhance mobile’s influence over consumers’ interaction with brands, and particularly over their purchase decisions. On the Httpool mobile network, we have access to about 112 million unique handsets. These are the ones who access internet from phone.''

Though accessing the internet from the phone is about 12 per cent now, it is expected to shoot up to 35 per cent by 2015. Smart phone users are estimated to spend about 2.5 hours a day on their phone, with 28 per cent of their time used for communications, while 72 per cent of their time is used for gaming, entertainments and apps.

In a TNS research report, Rosie Hawkins, global head, brand and communication practice says, ``Mobile is changing how, when and where brands interact with consumers. The ability to interact on a more personal level creates exciting new opportunities to engage and reward consumers, while providing brands and retailers with valuable insights and learnings.''

Huge benefits become available when a brand is invited into a consumer’s mobile world. However, to gain entry and to remain relevant enough to stay there, a brand must continue to deliver against one or more of the core consumer needs that mobile is particularly well suited to addressing like experience, independence, convenience and relevance, says the report.

Keeping this in mind, major advertising and media agencies have formed dedicated mobile advertising planning and buying teams. While media agency Mindshare was the first Indian agency to flag off a mobile marketing facility to cater to its global clientele in Mumbai, Group M went a step ahead to form a new company in association with Madhouse, a China-based mobile ad network.

Madhouse launched operations in India to capitalise on the ever increasing demand for customised mobile marketing solutions. With over 120 clients like HP, Intel, Coke, KFC, Unilever, VW, able support is provided by agency groups including GroupM, Aegis, OMG and their associated agencies.

Vinod Thadani, Chief Operating Officer, Madhouse India maintains that mobile advertising can achieve accurate intelligent targeting and can provide real-time reporting - a very convincing proposition for advertisers. Since the need of the hour is to unlock the potential, the agency is eager to change the face of the Indian digital media landscape and grow the mobile media market from Rs 125 crore to Rs 1,000 crore within the next 3 years.

Thadani, who was previously with GroupM, is keen to offer end-to-end mobile marketing solutions across paid, owned and earned media on feature phones, smart phones and tablets. Incidentally, GroupM is WPP's consolidated media investment management company.

Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP notes that digital Media is evolving and innovating at a very fast pace in India where especially mobile and handheld devices are poised to play a larger role in marketing communications.

While traditional advertising spend in China is $20.2 billion, it is $5.3 billion in India. Mobile advertising spend on the other hand is $223.2 million in China, and just $35.4 million in India. By 2016, China’s mobile advertising market size is set to cross $1 billion.

It is clearly not a game, but for game operators on mobile, it time to laugh all the way to the bank. As Alok Kejriwal, founder and CEO of online gaming company Games2Win, and maker of the Mitt Romney dating game says, ``Games are a challenge. A challenge is always fun and we are selling happiness. Mobile games are big business. We are in the business of selling happiness.''

Now, can it get better than that?

>amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in