Mobile marketing in India has turned to another peak in 2024 owing to its rapid transformation within the geography. More than 1.2 billion people own mobile devices, and the uploading rates of mobile phones in tier two and three cities are very high. Complex geo targeting practices along with other types of individualised messages allow advertisers to extend their coverage of consumers. Such global shifts allow brands to reach their audiences and fulfill their marketing strategies in new, location enriched, yet personalised ways.
However, India's mobile marketing tactics have to cater to the country's multidimensional cultural fabric. AI alongside machine learning has made it easier for marketers to identify and segment their audience accurately. Companies, for example, provide specific community based marketing wherein language, shopping habits, app usage, and preferred payment methods are taken into account in all communications. For instance, the same active campaign can execute offering Bengali promos at the time of Durga puja in Kolkata and different promos for Navratri in Gujarat at the same time.
After the implementation of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, new legal regulations have changed the way marketers sought to collect and use consumer’s data. Campaigns today manage to do this better than the past, by being personal yet respecting consumer’s privacy. Brands have begun to place emphasis on ethical data collection by adopting opt-in policies for geolocation sharing, as well as giving users options on how much data they want to share. This notion of privacy has now shifted from simply being a policy to being a key factor in generating consumer confidence.
Such geotargeting and personalised marketing techniques have already begun to yield positive results in various industries. Lunch promotions at office buildings are being employed by quick service restaurants, retail stores are presenting local customers with available items in their vicinity, while e-commerce sites are showing people when their orders in their area will be delivered and the products that are most appropriate for them. Even banking applications have jumped on the band wagon, advising users on available ATMs in their vicinity, with the maximum amount of cash that they can withdraw from the machine automatically determined by the specific user’s account activity and preferences.
With 85 percent of users relying on smartphones to access services, 65 percent accessing the internet, and social media via mobile platforms, it is no wonder that campaign planning in India takes a different perspective than in other countries. Most of the successful campaigns today include installation of progressive web apps for better and forward client engagements through searching in voice for a specific region, automatically crafting conversations through information available on WhatsApp, and embedding augmented reality content to be accessed geographically. Such features are critical in countries where the availability of particular networks can be limited and where the specs of devices being used are unlikely to be the same.
Taking such an approach, marketers experience blockades which relates to data being orthodox regarding Indian audiences, applicable network connectivity standards, device fragmentation and cultural factors. Nevertheless, answers are coming through operational-grade data availability, offline-first approach and extensive compatibility requirements and relevant professional for the market engaged to the content being presented. Metrics have also changed and mobile geo-conversion metrics, app stickiness, geo revenue per user and language friendliness responsiveness have come on board.
Predictions for 2024 are optimistic, as businesses expect AI to map the location of their customers and persuade them efficiently across channels. Advanced biometric identification and blockchain technologies promise increased data protection without compromising on relevance. It is already apparent that performing accuracy checks on the data, testing campaigns in bunches and smaller biogeographical areas, and being mindful of the shifts in the audience will be the end goals in the land battle of mobile marketing.
By the end of 2024, marketers will need to combine marketing automation and effective geo-fencing solutions to provide targeted marketing in mobile channels in India. On the other hand, locations and cultures must attract marketers who are sensitive. In this scenario, the future is portrayed in a very optimistic light – the end belongs to those in mobile marketing who can understand the nuance of the country, where heavy personalisation is welcomed not as an intrusion but an enhancement.
The article has been authored by NetSetGo Media global business head Abhishek Tiwary.
