The Apple iPad mini launched in Australia last week. If you haven’t already seen one, it is a thinner, smaller, lighter and more affordable version of the standard iPad with all the features you love and some extra enhancements.
As you might expect there has been talk about how much it will cannibalise Apple’s standard iPad sales, despite this, we feel it’s a much more convenient and portable option for users. Even better, it can be held in just one hand. Apple fans love it and Apple haters don’t, but what does the launch of the Apple iPad mini mean for Australian marketers?
Recently we discussed the launch of the iPhone 5 in Australia and according to a release by Apple, they sold over 5 million devices just three days after its launch in the US. Samsung also recently released it’s Galaxy Note 11 while Google has the Nexus 10. All this buzz around new and improved mobile devices continues to bring us back to one obvious recurring theme for marketers. Mobile needs to be a key focus of our marketing strategies as Mobile love continues to build in Australia, with the frequent launch of new and improved devices.
When we refer to mobile, we don’t just mean mobile phones, it’s really any device with web browsing capabilities other than our desktop or laptop computer. Mobile also doesn’t just mean when you’re on the go (we’d argue that this has been the case for a long time). Even though location-based and location-aware services are still the killer apps, many of us will use mobile devices at home with the desktop computer only metres away. It’s often more convenient, interactive and also allows us to multi task (e.g watch TV and browse the web at the same time).
Smart Company shared an article yesterday where according to Net Marketshare, 10.29% of all web traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets. So it really is critical that your marketing strategy (in particular, your digital communications and content strategy) includes a focus on mobile devices. It’s also important for advertisers to step up and ensure online advertising is mobile friendly and takes full advantage of the interactive touch screen features mobile provides.
So if your website is mobile browsing friendly (with the option for users to view the full site) and your email campaign templates render nicely on mobile devices, then you are at least a couple of steps ahead in the right direction to ensure a seamless mobile user experience. Just make sure that you don’t get left behind and give disgruntled customers straight into the hands of your mobile savvy competitor.
If you want to check out the new iPad mini features for yourself, they’re available from the Apple Store and we’ve also included the iPad mini video for you below.
If you’ve got one of the new iPad mini’s, what has been your experience? We’d love to hear from you below.
Calie is passionate about all things psychology, marketing, web, social and research. She is also the Managing Director and Co-founder of the Melbourne based digital agency Clickify.
The Apple iPad mini launched in Australia last week. If you haven’t already seen one, it is a thinner, smaller, lighter and more affordable version of the standard iPad with all the features you love and some extra enhancements.
