Mobile devices are no longer just to ensure that ads are optimized for the screen.

It doesn't sound like 2019, but remember the "mobile year"? For a while, if no one named it "YoM" (cough cough), you would not be able to participate in activities-this is a watershed, smart phones began to attract more screen time and spending than desktops. However, although it is a convenient, if overused, and all-encompassing for the unstoppable rise of smartphones, in the context of 2021, the concept now seems a bit simplified.

Don't get me wrong, our love for smartphones will continue unabated in 2020 and 2021. Even though we have been basically motionless for the past 18 months-trapped at home by the blockade trilogy-we have spent more time on our phones than ever before. According to our Real Living 2021 research, smartphones are our most commonly used digital devices, 80% of people use them every day, and 41% say their mobile phones have changed the way they consume entertainment at home. Watching, streaming, listening, gaming, chatting, scrolling, shopping... everything is mobile.

But when it comes to advertising, we still regard "mobile advertising" as an entity, which should be optimized for the screen and has a high click-through rate. In fact, mobile advertising has evolved to include a variety of opportunities, and these opportunities cannot be classified as a homogeneous format. From the perspective of advertising, "mobile" should be seen as a device that crosses context and emotional states, requiring a nuanced, tailored approach to creativity.

Real Living 2021-an in-depth understanding of the changing digital lives of the British-reveals that our online habits are divided into three distinct areas. In short, we have an immersive environment (such as online retail, podcasting, and streaming music), a tilted environment (mobile games, short videos, and online broadcasting), and a discovery environment (news, email, and online search).

There is some overlap. Social media connects “tilt” and “discovery”, while VOD is both “immersive” and “tilted”. However, what fascinates me in this guide is that almost all the daily activities it contains are mobile. We do all these things on our phones (bar console games), and we are introducing all these different versions of ourselves into our phones.

So what does this mean for advertisers? First, the brand needs to really adapt to the emotional state of people when participating in these different activities. Mobile devices are no longer just to ensure that ads are optimized for the screen. It's about appreciating that smartphones are now at the core of everything we do, and making messages that resonate with specific emotions and moments.

For mobile game advertising, this is to respect the highly immersive environment and enter the gameplay to enhance the experience or provide rewards. For social media advertising, it takes advantage of the fact that we are in a curious state of mind, easily distracted and looking for inspiration.

Advertisers need to consider these different factors while realizing that our smartphones are essentially an intimate environment. Whether they like it or not, they are an extension of ourselves-both a portal to escape from reality and an irreplaceable tool to help us accomplish our tasks. Whether we insert our favorite podcasts, search for indoor inspo on Insta, smash it on Candy Crush, or simply buy groceries, this is a personal space, and advertising needs to be targeted correctly.

According to our research, this means being relevant and respecting the context, but not over-positioning or over-personalized creativity, both of which are a big obstacle for audiences who are increasingly proficient in digital technology. Of course, taking into account Apple's IDFA changes, it is more challenging to perform this operation within the app, but leveraging the context and reassessing the value of non-addressable data is an essential first step.

So, two years after I think we decided to be a real mobile year, what does a successful "mobile" strategy mean in 2021? This means applying a more nuanced perspective to the many opportunities involved in movement. It’s about taking the time to understand the different ways people use mobile phones and customizing ideas that resonate with and enhance this emotional state. This means being willing to think about the role of mobile advertising in storytelling and brand building in a different way—beyond performance indicators.

With more ad spending entering this area than ever before — it now accounts for 64% of all digital investment — I believe that if we accept everything that mobile advertising can provide, then it will still have enough costs.

James Chandler is the Chief Marketing Officer of IAB UK

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