Mobile marketing goes multi-channel?

It's grey, overcast & raining (which should come as no big surprise given it is a bank holiday) but the smiley lady on the telly box assures me that summer is on the way so my thoughts can't help but drift hopefully in the direction of barbecues & cold beers at the riverside. This got me wondering whether with the advent of a World Cup summer (where every brand and his dog will be promoting something), we'll start to see more joined-up thinking from our favourite brands when it comes to bringing mobile into the marketing mix.

Too many brands still seem to view the world as black & white, where:

• we're either web-surfing or watching TV or using a mobile, but never two things at the same time;
• we're "mobile" so our info needs are streamlined and we'll accept shoddy content so long as its fast, or we're at home and will invest more time and expect a richer experience;
• we're out-and-about so all we could possibly be interested in is our nearest x or the supplier of the cheapest y, whereas when we're at home we suddenly become willing to use the web to transact.

In reality the latest research shows that more & more of us are surfing the web on our phones at home, often whilst watching TV - throw an ad break at us and we'll tune out whilst we check the latest sports news on our iPhone. Its time to put some effort into getting the small screen and the big screen working together if you want to keep us engaged.

I remember working on a project about 15 years ago for a forward-thinking (at least back then) broadcaster who was looking at ways to capture interest in ads through a set-top box. Imagine it if you will: you see an ad on TV, you press a button and lo & behold you get a personalised call or mailshot from the supplier; it's like something out of Tomorrow's World!

Sadly the logistics involved meant that it never got off the ground, but today these logistical challenges are solved by the kind of comms technology that's jucommonplace in every mobile phone. See an ad; press a button; get a mobile coupon to buy that 24 pack of Carlsberg half price! Throw in an "internet of things" and before you know it my TV will know when I'm surfing for the footie results instead of watching that chick flick and will text my wife to land me right in it. Perhaps the future's not so bright after all...