Jonathan Liew
Strategy Director, Fetch

Most users dislike seeing ads on their mobile, and yet mobile advertising is set to represent more than 70% of the entire marketing ad spend in the US. As consumers continue to spend exponentially higher time on their mobiles, it’s time to serve such consumers with better experiences, which positively influence business outcomes. To understand how marketers can better deliver meaningful mobile experiences, we spoke to Jonathan Liew, Strategy Director at Fetch.

Tell us about your role at Fetch and the team and technology you handle. 

I am the Strategy Director at Fetch and my role is integrated by nature. I sit within our Creative team but work closely with our Media, Data, and Account teams to build integrated communication strategies for our clients. Speaking of clients, most of ours are digital economy brands who are ready to grow quickly. My job is to put the customer at the core of what we do – to understand their evolving attitudes and behaviors, purchase triggers, and the context of the larger world they live in to develop mobile-first campaigns that create impact and ultimately inspire action.

What is the ‘State of Mobile-First Customer Experience’ in 2018?

I think of the mobile-first consumer as one whose behaviors have changed dramatically, and will continue to keep evolving. Mobile-first is less about the device but about behaviors. Be it how we consume entertainment to how we communicate to how we live our lives, today’s mobile-first consumer expects a seamless experience across all screens – or no screens at all in the case of voice-controlled AI devices. My job is to understand these rising consumer expectations and help brands deliver compelling experiences.

What was the idea behind your recent report on “Love on Mobile”? What segments of the audience were you targeting?

We wanted to better understand the impact mobile devices have had on our most intimate relationships. We know that our devices and the apps on them help us to find love, to stay connected, and even get closes but we also wondered if certain mobile behaviors were not well received within relationships. We work with clients in the travel industry as well as media and entertainment – understanding couple behaviors and “date night” was important to us.

What do consumers want from mobile-first brands? How do you measure the gap between opportunities and possibilities in mobile marketing?

Be useful. Reduce friction. Surprise and delight.

Brands have the opportunity to increase consumer satisfaction when they really understand them and provide a product or service that makes their lives easier or better in some way. Mobile has enabled some of the most disruptive services that have changed the way we live – and we as marketers are also mobile-first consumers too. No “what if?” is too small an opportunity for mobile-first brands.

How do you think Smartphone App Economy is shaping up? How does it disrupt the status-quo in the mobile marketing industry?

We are seeing some app fatigue in general where consumers are content to spend most of their time within just a handful of apps (mostly properties of GAFA). We’ll see how the Facebook data scandal plays out. We’re seeing younger mobile users engage with new apps, and are willing to pay for the ones that stand out. The app stores have revamped to focus more on discoverability. We could be due for an app renaissance but it is our jobs to help users (re)discover apps that add value. The status quo of repurposing assets for mobile is over. Instead, we are thinking about vertical video designed for mobile, augmented reality, and “feed-ready” creative designed for native mobile experiences. And we have to stay on our toes to be ready for the next big shift – listen for it.

Are TV ad strategies relevant to audience conversion on mobile? How could brands better leverage smartphones for advertising?

TV offers reach and our phones offer the opportunity for more personalized follow-ups. One thing that will never change is great storytelling. Stories that pull at your heartstrings or drop you on the floor in belly laughs. With mobile, the fundamentals of good storytelling stay constant but how we tell stories can change. Think less about the 30-sec spot and more episodically. Think of how 6-second bumpers can be strung together sequentially so consumers can follow your breadcrumbs to the intended takeaways. Leverage data points like location and weather to personalize interactions. We have so many opportunities.

Thanks for chatting with us, Jonathan.
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