Steve Hasker from Nielsen: Mobile is the Ultimate Disruptor in Marketing Today

Despite the growth of mobile in India, where an estimated one-fifth of rural consumers access mobile phones, marketers struggle when the performance of their campaigns in this platform is compared to traditional media like TV. To overcome these obstacles, Steve Hasker, Nielsen’s President and CEO suggested that “there is a pressing need for standardized measurement for digital and, importantly, a unified approach across media platforms.” “Metrics that were created when the mobile medium was in its nascency are still in practice in India, which is not helping the mobile medium to deliver to its full potential” Hasker said during a talk at the MMA Forum in India, hosted by the Mobile Marketing Association. He also discussed how India’s marketers can synergise different mediums and help them measure every impression and every user on every medium. This in turn will create a level playing field for all, helping them win at mobile and business. But Hasker noted that, while there are clear opportunities for mobile advertising to grow in that country “not all time spent on mobile devices is created equal for marketers and, therefore, should be carefully considered before being compared to other platforms.” He also highlighted that, regarding how mobile devices are becoming the “life-remote, the need to differentiate how users spend time on their mobile devices, for example, when a consumer is chatting, calling etc. “Given this scenario, mobile marketers will need to find the right opportunities for advertising. Mobile is the ultimate disruptor in marketing today.”