Mobile Marketing: Tapping Asian Innovation

Despite the fact that we are ten years into the twenty-first century, many people still associate Asia with the past – dusty streets lined with carts, merchants peddling their wares shouting at the top of their lungs, all in the shadow of a giant temple of some sort with a dragon on the top. Reality is somewhat different, and oddly enough, the following facts are common knowledge.

Where is the largest part of the world’s population located? Asia.

Where are the most advanced mobile telecoms technology deployed? Asia.

Which part of the world contains most of the world’s mobile phone users? Asia.

Which part of the world has the greatest mobile phone penetration? Asia.

So why do mental perceptions still paint Asia as some sort of technological backwater? The fact that Asia is the answer to all those questions means that it is past time for the world to rethink its position on Asia, to delete those old images and replace them with the bustling modern metropolises that characterize the Asian landscape. Think of Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore – world-class cities all of them.

Imagine all the people in all those cities, and then consider this: how many people at any given moment are carrying mobile phones in their pockets or have them pressed to their ears or are sending text messages or engaging in some way, shape or form in mobile communication. It’s a large number, one that is difficult to imagine.

2 billion people in Asia have their mobile phones with them wherever they go.

The immense, seemingly insatiable hunger for mobile phones in Asia contributed to the steady development of mobile technology and, concomitant with that, has hothoused an incredible level of inventiveness and innovation.

Take the Condom! Condom! Condom! campaign in India. This public-service campaign was aimed at raising awareness of condoms, at the same time destigmatising the “taboo” nature of condoms. A series of ads in the first phase of the four-phase campaign encouraged conversations about condoms and a call-in campaign to win prizes. The third phase featured a television commercial showing off an amusing musical ringtone featuring the words “Condom! Condom! Condom!” sung prominently, which was available for download at a specially-designed website.

Or the Axe Effect campaign which ran in Indonesia and the Philippines, which was specially tailored for more conservative Asian markets. All the ads featured young men who used Axe deodorant and found themselves the recipients of phone numbers from pretty girls they’d never met before. Those phone numbers were actually live, and people who called them would hear pre-recorded messages targeted at young men, who formed the main target market.

The list goes on, since mobile-linked campaigns have been successfully run all across Asia, in developed economies like Korea and Japan, in emerging economies like India, and in developing nations like Indonesia and the Philippines. The response to these campaigns has been substantial, measured in the millions for most campaigns. Not surprising, considering the propensity for Asians to use their mobile phones.

The future of mobile marketing in Asia looks bright, with a tech-savvy populace that is ever-ready to use their devices in new and surprising ways. Depending on the country, even simple SMS campaigns can be effective, although with the pace of development of mobile technology in Asia it’s hard to say for certain how long this situation will persist.

What we can say for certain is that Asia represents a gateway opportunity for marketing through the mobile channel, either on its own or (even better) as a part of a larger integrated marketing mix. As technology becomes more advanced, and as costs for devices and bandwidth goes down, mobile phones in Asia will become ever more commonplace.

Asian Innovation

A round-up of the creative Asian campaigns shown off at MMA Forum 2010