Marketers Investing Heavily in Customer-facing Mobile Initiatives But Failing to Make the Grade

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketers are planning to invest an average of $543,000 on customer-facing mobile projects in the next 12-18 months, according to the Mobile Business Forecast for Marketers 2012 research published today by Antenna Software. The report looks at the types of mobile deployments brands are undertaking and the difficulties they face in getting customers to use the mobile solutions developed. Crucially, the research indicates that investment in the use of outside creative agencies will likely decrease as brands look for more control over the development and management of their mobile initiatives.

The research, which was conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Antenna Software, profiled 1,000 business decision makers in the US and UK about their current and future mobile projects. The results found that 45 percent of brands are currently working on a mobile website and 43 percent on 'native' mobile apps for consumers. Interestingly, 32 percent of businesses are working on web-apps for their customers, while 14 percent are working on building their own branded app stores unique to their company. 

According to Antenna's Mobile Business Forecast for Marketers 2012, only 1 in 5 US and UK businesses have seen their customer-facing mobile projects adopted by 'the majority' of the consumers they were aimed at, underscoring the challenges brands face when looking to grab and retain attention in the crowded mobile content space.  

The report also discusses key frustrations that businesses face when commissioning mobile projects via third-party creative agencies, highlighting a lack of control over projects developed. Forty-five percent of businesses who used a third-party agency said that they were dissatisfied with the length of time it took to complete the project, while 21 percent said the final product was not easy to use. Design was another key frustration highlighted by brands, as 11 percent said they felt the final build was not 'sleek' enough and 1 in 10 said they did not feel it aligned to company branding.

"Ever since the launch of the first iPhone, demand for mobile apps has skyrocketed and helped ignite a marketing renaissance. Marketers are spending more and more on mobile, looking at new ways to engage with customers and offer a truly multi-channel experience – not just through traditional apps, but also mobile websites, web apps and even their own branded app stores," said Jim Somers, chief marketing and strategy officer for Antenna Software. "But it's clear that not all projects are a success, and our research shows that many businesses are frustrated by the design and usability of the mobile projects they commission."

"As more brands embrace the mobile channel as a strategic driver for their business, a growing number of companies are recognizing the need for a unified mobile platform to manage and secure all their initiatives under one roof," continued Somers.  "Of course, designing and building the apps is critically important, but managing the applications (MAM) and digital content (MCM) is imperative for end-to-end control of all mobile projects, ensuring brands meet user expectations and deliver real return on investment."

The Mobile Business Forecast for Marketers 2012 can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/MBFM2012

AMPchroma: Unifies and Simplifies Mobile Business

AMPchroma™ is a cloud-based, mobile business suite, which allows companies to design, build, deploy and manage every type of mobile asset, including native and hybrid web-apps, mobile websites, and corporate app stores, from a single web-based console. The first mobile management solution of its kind that addresses the full mobile lifecycle, AMPchroma keeps the costs of 'going mobile' to a minimum by eliminating infrastructure investments and the redundant operating costs associated with disparate mobile projects. The suite has been designed to support a holistic approach to mobile management, helping marketers and individual department heads to achieve their own mobile ambitions.

AMPchroma is built upon the Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP), Antenna's flagship mobile business platform. AMPchroma brings color and simplicity to a complex mobile world, along with a wealth of new capabilities and functionality, including:

• Tools to build, design and publish mobile applications and websites: AMPchroma includes reusable application templates, design themes and controls to facilitate rapid design and construction of mobile apps and websites, meaning projects can be more effectively managed and branded   
• Customer and employee application store capabilities: With AMPchroma, businesses can create and manage their own application stores for consumers to access apps and digital content through an entirely branded mobile experience, helping increase discoverability of mobile assets while ensuring brand consistency 
• Centralized management: AMPchroma's single web-based dashboard empowers marketers to run, test and manage all mobile initiatives, from applications, websites, content and devices, giving full visibility and control over their entire mobile strategy. With full measurement and analytics capabilities, AMPchroma lets businesses tap into mobile usage data so campaigns can be refined and improved over time for maximum impact
• Business systems integration: AMPchroma is powered by Antenna's industrial strength enterprise gateway, the company's highly scalable messaging and transactional engine that ensures proper data compression, management, integrity and synchronization required for today's "run the business" mobile apps and websites. With AMPchroma, mobile projects are seamlessly integrated with back end systems (e.g. CRM), helping save time, improve effectiveness and gain information on customer mobile behavior
• Flexible, scalable and agile: AMPchroma can be used for every mobile need – the platform is fully extensible and scales to meet business requirements
• Future-proofed:  AMPchroma keeps businesses ahead of today's rapid device innovation with its patented server technology that supports more than 10,000 devices, from low-end feature phones to high-end smartphones and tablets – ensuring that every customer can be reached
• Security: AMPchroma is PCI, SysTrust and SAS70 certified. Its patent-pending hybrid container security and provisioning technology gives enterprises the full control and protection they require over mobile projects

AMPchroma is available immediately.  For more information please visit: www.antennasoftware.com

About Antenna

Antenna provides the most complete cloud-based enterprise mobility suite in the market, enabling both IT pros and business executives alike to create and manage mobile apps, websites and content across the entire business. AMPchroma gives Global 1000 companies the ability to create, control, measure, adapt and future-proof their mobile business strategies for employees, partners and customers in one place, increasing productivity, connectivity and engagement. Antenna's integrated suite of mobile services provides unparalleled creativity, control and visibility throughout the entire mobile value chain. Founded in 1998, Antenna is headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., with offices around the world.

CONTACT: Meghan Attreed, +1-201-239-2318, [email protected]

SOURCE Antenna Software

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