A key official of Globe Telecom said that there is a strong potential for mobile phones to be used as a medium for brands to reach their target audience.

“The mobile phone has clearly taken great prominence in the human value chain. Time Magazine’s Mobility Poll revealed that out of 5,000 respondents across eight countries, 68 percent sleep with their mobile phones next to them, and 66 percent would rather take their mobile phones to work instead of lunch,” said Ernest Cu, president and chief executive officer of Globe.

Cu expressed bullish prospects about the growing ubiquity of mobile phones in the Philippines, with mobile set to change the landscape of traditional advertising in the country.

As keynote speaker at the 2012 Mobile Marketing Conference of the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (Immap) with his speech: “How Mobile is Changing the Advertising Industry,” Cu cited the strong potential of mobile phones as an effective medium for brands to reach target audiences.

Citing an example closer to home, Cu revealed that in the Philippines, nine out of 10 people own mobile phones, putting mobile phone penetration at its highest peak compared to any other form of medium such as television.

“Indeed, mobile is the way to go to connect with and engage today’s consumers, as well as to create a rich consumer experience that goes beyond traditional marketing,” he said.

The official said that the use of mobile phones as a channel to communicate with a target market pushes brand activation to the limits of a consumer’s imagination, citing augmented reality as an effective platform to bring advertising campaigns to life.

Cu also said that mobile advertising opens creative corridors for dynamic and more compelling content, capitalizing on strong visual stimulation to entice consumers further.

Lastly, the Globe official hyped the interactivity that mobile encourages, allowing consumers to instantly send feedback, making the retail experience more relevant and meaningful.

“Mobile technology has definitely changed the way brands talk to their consumers. Because it’s so personal and powerful, it enables the unique efficiency of reaching out to very precise target markets with mobile advertising-driven campaigns hinging on the capability to profile customers and touch them directly,” said Cu.

In 2010, Globe partnered with Out There Media in launching its mobile advertising platform called My Rewards, My Globe Plus, now with over two million opt-in subscribers. Top consumer brands such as McDonald’s, Clear and Sunsilk have effectively used the platform to engage and establish affinity with their target consumers.

Taking the track of extensively profiling the customer, Globe is embarking on a massive $90-million information technology and systems transformation that will monitor demographics, usage, product subscriptions, transactions, bill payment and behavior of its subscribers.

“As soon as we see that a customer has the propensity to top up load, to roam, or to subscribe to a promo on any given day, we can push the relevant service in an instant, to the right customer, at the right time,” Cu said.