The State of the Industry: Mobile Marketing in EMEA 2019 

Cristina Blanaru Business, Marketing, Mobile, Studies

Mobile is increasingly seen by marketers in EMEA to be an effective marketing channel, but as it continues to be a disruptive force across industries, it has yet to reach its potential.

These are some of the findings included in the State of the Industry: Mobile Marketing in EMEA 2019, an annual report released today, providing a current snapshot into how brands, agencies and tech vendors see the impact of mobile – its use as a tool for advertising effectively, as well as opportunities and concerns.

The report is based on a survey of 426 marketing professionals from 43 markets across EMEA carried out by WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, on behalf of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the world’s leading global non-profit trade association.

The report highlights the following key insights in EMEA:

  • Mobile disruption and innovation

Mobile marketing continues to be a disruptive force with 94% of survey respondents seeing an impact, of which just over half (51%) see mobile as a major disruptor, while 43% expect a bigger impact in the future.

Mobile payments have remained significant for marketers in EMEA with 51% of respondents agreeing that it is a key consumer behaviour.

Financial services is seen as the most innovative sector in mobile (39%), closely followed by leisure and entertainment (37%), retail (35%) and travel, transport and tourism (32%).

Amazon is cited by the highest number of marketers as the most innovative brand in EMEA, followed by Nike and Coca-Cola.

  • Mobile strategy, budgets and integration

Having a clear learning agenda remains a parameter where neither clients nor agencies feel ready for mobile adoption. For the vast majority of EMEA marketers, mobile marketing activities are connected to other marketing activities, but more than a third of respondents have not achieved full integration of their channels.

Transferring mobile strategies across countries is difficult in both Africa and the Middle East, owing to diverse regions with large differences in culture and wealth, localisation of strategies and translation.

Almost a third of respondents predict that they will spend more than 30% of their budget on mobile over the next year.

Marketing technology will be a significant investment with 80% of respondents allocating up to 25% of their budget.

  • Mobile tactics and technologies

Social media remains the most frequently used media channel for mobile marketing, and while Facebook is the most used platform at 93% (a slight decrease from 95% last year), Instagram has grown in usage (up from 83% to 87%).

Over half (51%) of EMEA marketers are focusing on mobile web display advertising and in-app display mobile advertising (42%). Branded content remains the focus in five years’ time at 46%.

Location data continues to be the most utilised technology by mobile marketers (58% this year) followed by chatbots, but artificial intelligence and augmented reality are top choices to make an impact by 2024.

  • Barriers and challenges

Over 70% of marketers are confident that they fully consider viewability, fraud and transparency to ensure brand safety.

However, metrics and internal challenges are seen as the main barriers to the growth of mobile marketing. Engagement metrics, like sharing and video completion rates, remain the most used measurements for mobile marketing effectiveness.

Summing up, Amy Rodgers, Managing Editor Research & Rankings, WARC, commented:

The findings of this year’s survey reveal that mobile marketing is becoming increasingly more effective and is impacting all sectors across EMEA, and this is set to continue with mobile payments and mobile video having a big impact on mobile strategies in the region.

The comprehensive report provides agencies, media owners and brand owners alike with insights to benchmark their clients and peers, gain guidance on mobile trends, and identify future challenges and opportunities.

A sample copy of the Mobile Marketing in EMEA report can be downloaded here. The full report is available to WARC subscribers and MMA members. Similar reports are also available for APAC and United Kingdom.

WARC is part of Ascential: the path-to-purchase company that combines intelligence, data and insights to drive growth in the digital economy. We do this by delivering an integrated set of business-critical products in the key areas of product design, marketing and sales.

WARC powers the marketing segment by providing rigorous and unbiased evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. WARC services include best practice guides, case studies, research papers, special reports and advertising trend data, webinars, awards, events and advisory services. WARC has 1,200 client companies, 75,000 active users in 100+ countries; collaborates with  50+ industry partners; has offices in the UK, US and Singapore.

The MMA is the world’s leading global non-profit trade association composed of more than 800 member companies, from nearly fifty countries around the world. Our members hail from every faction of the mobile marketing ecosystem including brand marketers, agencies, mobile technology platforms, media companies, operators and others. The MMA’s mission is to accelerate the transformation and innovation of marketing through mobile, driving business growth with closer and stronger consumer engagement.