Event Recap: MIMA – Mobilize Your Mind

MIMA members and guests had the opportunity to hear Hugh Park Jedwill, one of the top mobile marketers in the country, speak at The Minneapolis Central Library on Wednesday, July 16th. Hugh is the founder of the Heartland Mobile Council which creates economic development in the midwest by bringing mobile innovation to large corporations. Hugh has over 19 years of experience in marketing and has built amazing campaigns for companies like Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble.

Hugh has seen the opportunity for mobile marketing and interaction with mobile consumers since before the iPhone debuted. He began the session by asking the crowd to define mobile, there were responses like: everywhere, on-the-go, always on, available at all times, but what was nailed down as the definition of mobile? Everything. Mobile is phones, tablets, wearable technology, in our homes and “the internet of things.” Anything that is connected can be considered mobile.

This a huge opportunity for marketers. Hugh made a good point, “whatever we see today, it’s almost unimaginable as to what we are going to see in mobile in the future.” A sobering view on how fast this technology moves is a computer used to take up an entire building, now fits in your pocket and in another 20 years, it will fit in a blood cell. Mobile technology moves faster than any other industry or technology. Just look at time it took these technologies to  reach 50 million users:

• • 18 years for radio
  • 13 years for TV
  • 4 years for the internet
  • 3.5 years for Facebook
  • 50 days for the mobile app Draw Something

When consumers connect with something, they latch on. That should be your goal in mobile-find something that doesn’t try to change behavior but augments the consumer’s current behavior and makes it better. Doing so creates opportunity and mass behavior change=money. Businesses who capitalize on the behavior of consumers are expected to collectively make 2.4 trillion by 2016. An example that Hugh gave the group were apps like Yelp and CareerBuilder. Those platforms aren’t trying to change what you’re doing, but augmenting your current experience trying to find a restaurant or a job.

Overall, behavioral insights drive success. In order to connect with your consumer over something as personal as a mobile phone, figure out what their current behaviors are and enhance that, instead of changing it entirely.

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