It is the claim that has been made year after year \u2013 to the point of becoming an industry joke. So when did the \u2018year of mobile\u2019 really take place? 2007, when the iPhone was first released? 2012, when many markets first began benefitting from 4G data speeds?<\/p>\n
Daryl Lee, global chief executive of IPG Mediabrands agency UM, has a different answer \u2013 and one he is aware may incite a smattering of ridicule. \u201cEvery year we say this, but I think it is true: this will be the year of mobile,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Hear him out. With audiences drinking in information and entertainment by the gallon on their smartphones, and the likes of Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook focused on developing mobile video products, Lee argues that 2017 will be the year that agencies must prove mobile advertising works \u2013 both to marketers and sceptical consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to go down as the person who always says, \u2018It\u2019s the year of mobile,\u2019 but I haven\u2019t said it before. I think it will be this year, and we will have to prove that mobile will be good for marketing, and not just a utility that provides you the last offer you need before you move into a store.\u201d<\/p>\n