Prof. (Dr.) Saumya Pant, Adjunct Professor, MICA and Prof. (Dr.) Varsha Jain, Assistant Professor, MICA as part of a research study, have been studying the emerging role of mobile marketing in India. They started their journey in this domain from May 2011 and have published two research papers and other two are in the process of publication.
The first paper got published in the International Journal of Mobile Marketing (December 2011) titled, “Mobile Marketing: The Emerging Indian Perspective” and the second paper got published in the Special Issue of Indore Management Journal (IIM-I journal) titled, “Mobile Marketing: Positioning an Indian Framework” (October 2012) and it was presented in IIM-I research conference in May 2012.
The various research studies that the authors have been engaged with have dealt with the overarching theme of mobile marketing in India. In one of the publications, the research analyzed series of case studies of those companies that have successfully used mobile phones to market their products in India.
Through this research, the authors proposed an Indian framework of mobile marketing that can be utilized by the companies to market their products via mobile phones. The authors analyzed the cases of Aircel, Mc Donald’s and State Bank of India and they found that these products were targeting the urban youth of India popularly known as Generation Y.
This audience segment is crucial for the marketers because it quickly adapts to new technology and uses several value added services. Aircel used innovative and creative strategies such as “INQ CHAT “(special social networking forum for its users), collaborated with ibibo.com for social gaming, tied up with Apollo hospital to educate individuals over the mobile phone etc. to create awareness about its brand among Generation Y.
On the other hand, Mc Donald’s integrated mobile phone with other traditional media such as television, hoarding etc. to promote Mc Spicy flavors in India. They primarily used QR codes for the smart phone users to promote their brand. Lastly, State Bank of India used mobile teasers and questions answers series through mobile phone to reposition its brand to Generation Y. However, authors identified that companies are using mobile phones to position the brands but they need to understand the Indian consumers in a holistic manner and then develop creative and engaging strategies for them.
Finally, the authors proposed a framework for mobile marketing that can be used for positioning the brands and products to Generation Y. It states that Generation Y is tech savvy, modern, demanding and they would prefer creative, informative and engaging messages. Earlier, companies used traditional media such as television, radio, hoardings to market the products but now the audience belonging to Generation Y enjoys exclusive mobile campaigns that are personalized and customized according to the consumers.
The authors are studying different aspects of mobile marketing in India emphasizing the emergence of Generation Y. They are planning to conduct research studies in different metropolitan cities in India with the objective of understanding the composition of Generation Y and their use of mobile technology for marketing. The next phase of this study will invite a cross-cultural understanding of mobile marketing in rural versus urban Indian markets.
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