According to research firm Morgan Stanley, one billion smartphones were shipped globally in 2013, compared with 175 million in 2009. These smartphones now represent 30 percent of all mobile phone sales worldwide. Interestingly, smartphones were shipped at three times the rate of tablets and at almost three times the rate of computers in 2013. Fast forward to today in the Middle East, where most publishers will claim that more than 50 percent of their traffic comes from mobile devices and that their desktop inventory is dwindling over time. If we compare this to some of the analytics reports generated from brands, it will show that traffic driven by mobile stands at a minimum of 30 percent, going up to a maximum of 70 percent, varying by category and industry.

Yet, with all of this data, we still ask if this is the ‘Year of Mobile’. Mobile technology has moved beyond a single screen and is now allowing for bigger and smarter innovations in consumer products that encompass the whole Internet of Things (IoT). For instance, Sony launched its latest smart TV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year, which is not only smarter and faster, but also has a feature that allows users to immediately search for their favorite programs and shows using a voice command. Since it’s Android compatible, users can also use Google Chromecast on it, which allows seamless navigation from phone to TV and vice-versa. Now imagine the next generation of mobile content being customized in a way that puts mobile at the heart of everything – including the living room of the future and what I believe to be the 2.0 of the IoT. Mobile commerce will only grow bigger and better as contextual advertising fuses with real-time targeting to elevate users’ viewing experience to a new level.

For this region, ‘The Year of Mobile’ needs to set aside its big promises and become a practical ‘mobile moment’ for each brand, advertiser and content owner. The facilitation of customized experiences, targetability and shareability must become a given rather than a dream.

If a brand experience is not device-responsive, then you’re probably missing out on a large segment of your target audience. Responsive designs are now a natural and necessary mandate to all digital assets and content destinations. There are new user experience (UX) designs being introduced every day on smartphones and tablets, and brands need to leverage these technologies to keep up with a moving and portable consumer. If you simply look at the largest digital platform today – Facebook – it has 865 million active users per day and 80 percent of those are mobile users. Similarly, GT Arab, one of the small, but growing, local automotive media owners of the region, generates 60 percent of its traffic from mobile devices.

Today, a mobile app is a necessity, not an accessory. Every brand needs an app, pure and simple. There may be concerns around traffic to the app and frequency of usage of the app, but given that advertisers need to capitalize on mobile moments, apps become the activation of the brand function, which in turn, paves the way to increased customer loyalty. For example, travelers may not use the Emirates app every day, but it does complete their journey when he or she is flying with Emirates, creating an experience that not only complements the traveler’s journey, but also enhances it. Owning a moment and assisting users with that moment is becoming an intrinsic component to the customer experience. Another example is the McDonald’s Surprise Alarm app that capitalizes on the morning moment with tips and advice for breakfast, waking up and more. Gamification ignites this experience, with more users opting for additional rewards and consequently developing loyalty to the app. While consumer journeys generate the necessary and relevant insights, it is creating the right application to capitalize on relevant moments, which is essential.

Accessibility is key. The mobile world is changing from ‘Always on’ to ‘On demand’. Receiving information and services in an instant is the pulse of every business and service, and smartphones simply complement this experience. On-demand private taxi app Uber is the perfect example of such a service. The brand has combined the power of celebrity charm with everyday services by collaborating with UAE influencer and model Jessica Kahawaty to take certain customers to specific locations via Uber chauffeurs. It also delivered breakfast hampers on special occasions and provided discounted route prices based on popular demand. Agility makes on-demand the winning formula, but using real-time data and insights to create a responsive and adaptive mobile strategy is only one part of the equation; leveraging those insights to foster actionable and quick transactions is what makes brands more relevant and accessible to their customers.

Though real-time and agile content is important, it is not sustainable if it isn’t used in specific environments, such as that of mobile devices to leverage customer loyalty and shareable customer experiences.