Adobe Targets Mobile With Upgraded Marketing Cloud

Adobe has provided its customers with new mobile capabilities for analytics, social app development, aimed at smartphone and tablet content, it revealed at its Adobe Summit 2013.

“Mobile now accounts for 25 percent of the analytics data we capture each quarter,” Brad Rencher, senior vice president and general manager of digital marketing at Adobe, said in a statement. “Marketers must think ‘mobile first’ when developing strategies, campaigns and content. We have added new mobile marketing capabilities to every solution in Adobe Marketing Cloud, so marketers can better meet the expectations of an increasingly mobile customer base.”

Mobile Content

Adobe officials said the huge volume of data flowing through mobile channels requires that marketers know and plan for the critical nuances that can make or break a mobile user’s experience. Adobe Analytics’ mobile capabilities include new out-of-the-box mobile app analytics reports that make it easier for marketers to visualise app user acquisition, engagement, retention and performance metrics, helping marketers better understand the behaviours of new and returning mobile users.

Also, new integration with Distimo provides Adobe Analytics customers with app store data such as downloads, rankings and revenue, giving marketers a more complete understanding of app user engagement from initial download through monetisation.

Moreover, Adobe is facilitating the development of mobile social apps. Developing a social application, such as a coupon or sweepstakes, is a popular way for marketers to reach consumers. However, some mobile versions of social platforms do not natively support apps, so they rarely show up or work well on a mobile device.

Adobe Social now automatically renders the social apps created within Adobe Social to both appear and work properly when viewed on a mobile device. This means that marketers do not have to develop a separate app for a mobile environment.

Adobe also offers an ad-management solution that optimises bids for mobile ads differently than for desktop ads. With Adobe Media Optimiser, marketers can create and target mobile ads from Media Optimizer across digital marketing channels; model and bid mobile ads differently from desktop ads; and track, report and optimise engagement metrics and conversions captured by Adobe Analytics on mobile sites.

Meanwhile, with mobile targeting, Adobe Target enables marketers to provide targeted content on mobile optimised Websites and mobile applications. Specifically, Adobe has redesigned and combined its mobile analytics and mobile optimization software development kit into a single SDK.

Adobe’s new mobile targeting capabilities enable marketers to deliver targeted content on mobile optimised Websites through standard target implementation; deliver targeted content within iOS, Android, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, OS X and Blackberry mobile applications via Adobe Marketing Cloud analytics and optimisation SDK; execute A/B and multivariate tests to optimise mobile app experiences; and automatically detect a visitor’s device and deliver real-time content specific to that device.

Platform Compatibility

Finally, the Adobe Experience Manager helps marketers deliver content that works well across a variety of devices.

Adobe Experience Manager enables users to preview exactly how content will perform on tablets and smartphones and precisely control video and image resizing and delivery for optimal performance across devices. It also enables users to rapidly develop and deliver mobile applications through integration with PhoneGap, Adobe’s standards-based framework for building cross-platform apps.

Adobe officials said the mobile analytics updates are currently in beta and are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2013. All other updates to the mobile marketing capabilities of Adobe Marketing Cloud are currently available.