Conversational ad experiences: unlocking new mobile advertising potential

The digital advertising industry is worth around $400B and is expected to grow to $579B this year. 

Mobile currently represents nearly 65% of this staggering amount. And yet, despite mobile’s dominance, the post-click ad experience delivered on billions of smartphones and tablets leaves a lot to be desired. 

In the spur of the moment or after tireless efforts to engage, a customer taps an ad. At that moment, they are taken to a website, landing page, or directed to download an app for a brand they often aren’t familiar with. From there, they navigate a maze of forms, disclaimers, declarations, and finally, after tapping away at their screen for several minutes, find themselves rewarded with a cursory “thank you” and a “we’ll be in touch.”

This long-winded process often causes abandonment and therefore sales opportunities to be lost. 

Surely, we can deliver a better experience on the other side of the mobile ad!    

What are conversational ad experiences?

Conversational ad experiences are the use of two-way messaging channels to engage and nurture leads and customers.

Google, Apple, and Facebook have launched asynchronous business messaging services for brands to enable conversational experiences. There is also Rich Communication Services (RCS), which continues to grow with 90 operator launches worldwide. These rich messaging channels are being used to provide one-to-one experiences defined by the use of rich media and app-like features, delivered in an environment familiar to users and is optimized for mobile.

For the marketer, rich messaging is a way to improve the mobile post-click experience. With a few swift taps of the screen, users can tell a brand what they are looking for, browse their options, and convert with ease. The experience is designed for the device they are interacting on and guides them towards the outcome the campaign was meant to achieve.

With rich messaging already being used to provide conversational experiences for customer care and proactive communications, making them part of the ad experience is a natural extension. Testament to their potential, Facebook and Google are now offering to link an ad to their business messaging channels. The tech giants are ready and now brands need to capitalize on the opportunity.

The benefits of conversational ad experiences

A richer post-ad experience

Rich messaging will help to create more engaging post-ad experiences for mobile users. Images and videos can be easily shared to showcase branded content that promotes, educates, and piques the interest of customers. The use of buttons and quick replies also adds a level of interactivity.

More than just a blanket message, customers are guided through the interaction with ease - interested in a new vehicle? Ok, which one? Now, let’s find your closest showroom and book a test drive. That’s all booked - would you like a coffee or tea when you turn up? Ok, great, see you then. 

People have short attention spans and want fulfillment on-demand. While this is a challenge for traditional post-ad experiences, this is where rich messaging excels.

Mores sales and conversions

By delivering a better post-ad experience, customers will be happier. Happier customers will result in more sales and other positive campaign outcomes. As an end-to-end ecommerce journey can be enabled through the conversation, brands can truly capitalize on the traffic their mobile ads drive.

Customers can browse different products and offers with a swipe. They can build a basket and choose different options by tapping buttons, list pickers, and time pickers, and then pay with ease through integrated payments. 

Deeper insights are offered through more in-depth analytics to optimize conversion rates - marketers can monitor which content is engaged with and how long was spent on an image.

Brand recall

No matter if the consumer converts, they build brand recognition through rich messaging. Verified business profiles, UI branding, content, and tone of voice all help to project an identity that resonates with the target audience. The quality of experience and initial interactions will help to build trust, and the customer can get back in touch with a “hi” at any time.  

Watch our presentation from MAD//Fest to dive further into the conversational advertising opportunity

Catch Steve Godman’s session from the MAD//FEST virtual event, presented in partnership with the Mobile Ecosystem Forum. Watch it now to learn more about how rich messaging is driving better outcomes from mobile advertising.