Global media agency MediaCom has teamed up with Internet giant Google to create a mobile-oriented training program for the agency’s employees. This move indicates the growing importance of mobile advertising.
As mobile is attracting more and more ad dollars, an increasing number of agencies have started to educate their employees on best practices for mobile. Recently, MediaCom did just that, partnering with Google to customize a training program for the WPP company’s planners and strategists to enhance their mobile expertise.
The new program, called Mobile Ignition, will cover both the new opportunities that mobile offers and an in-depth understanding of how mobile fits into a multi-channel communications plan.
It will also include how to use Google Analytics, as well as how to select the best channels and mobile techniques for clients by using Google data. MediaCom’s mobile planners, buyers and strategists in core markets are expected to complete the course by 2015.
Although some agencies have already integrated mobile into a more comprehensive digital marketing training package, MediaCom seems to be one of the few agencies that offers employees mobile-specific training.
Perhaps this move makes strategic sense for MediaCom, as mobile has been evolving. During a mobile breakfast discussion hosted by Nielsen and The Advertising Research Foundation last week, Ken Lagana, senior vice president (SVP) of sales, entertainment, sports and news at CBS Interactive, referred to industry reports that mobile will account for approximately 10 percent of advertising bugets in general at the end of this year.
And Raymonde Green, vice president (VP) and director of media activation and partnership at DigitasLBi, noted at the session that although few brands today consider mobile as a separate ad practice, more and more have incorporated mobile into their overall digital marketing strategy.
Obviously, MediaCom has spotted the opportunity in mobile, and has been ambitious in the mobile space. But will this training program give MediaCom a competitive edge over its agency peers?
Ben Phillips, global head of mobile at MediaCom, says, “Pooling expertise from within the group and leveraging the mass market insights from our partners give us a leading edge,” indicating that through this program, MediaCom wants to position itself as “the most mobile-aware media agency globally.”
According to Phillips, MediaCom will launch this training programm globally and will improve it for local market nuances in the coming months.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.