It’s not enough any more for brands to plan their marketing strategies, branding and digital presence for desktop alone. With mobile usage set to explode this year, we at The Practice are poised and ready to cater to our clients’ needs when it comes to entering this space. And with this in mind, is it enough for brands to seek the help of a fully integrated digital agency alone, or is a specialist mobile agency also required?

It’s predicted that mobile web usage will overtake desktop usage by 2015, with a user-base reaching around 2 billion by this time. With such exponential growth, we’re seeing brands taking their mobile strategy into greater consideration, more and more agencies offering mobile solutions, and also, an increase in mobile-based consultancies. Specialist mobile-only agencies can most certainly bring their expertise to a brand’s mobile campaign, particularly when it comes to designing for the mobile interface. M&C Saatchi Mobile for example, the offshoot of Saatchi & Saatchi, is perhaps the most famous, offering all the services expected from a mobile consultancy including advertising, optimization, social, strategy, app creation and SEO. The company has a long-standing track record, with projects that include building the first global mobile site for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a chart-topping app for Becks Beer, and winning international clients such as Adidas and HSBC’s global mobile account.

The work that mobile agencies do is specific, but it’s important to realise that a full-service digital agency can offer the same. As digital marketers and designers, we understand the mobile space and the underpinning nuances that mark it as different to desktop. For one, it’s about understanding how to communicate with your target audience, and while the way in which you present your chosen content changes- (via push notifications, geo, and interest targeting for instance), providing the correct content doesn’t, regardless of the medium. Timing though, is obviously going to be the main difference and key factor- analysing data trends in order to understand the user’s movements, place and context.  While strategy might instead become app-centric, there’s no reason why talented website designers and content creators can’t apply compatible principles regarding user experience, layout, signposting and functionality. And indeed, a client might feel that only a mobile-based website is required, rather than a native app, in which case it helps to have the expertise of a fully integrated agency who have experience with site building. Furthermore, a fully integrated agency such as ours is just that; well-versed in all digital platforms, channels and devices- and speaking from past experience, we have implemented successful mobile strategies for previous clients, as well as having designed and built a number of apps.

We certainly believe that mobile-based consultancies are specialists in their field- indeed, if a client solely requires a mobile site, native app, or mobile strategy then it’s fair that they would wish to seek the help of such an agency. But more often than not, a client will require a fully comprehensive campaign spanning both mobile and desktop- and for this, it can often be more helpful to work with a creative agency who can offer a full service.

Do you think that businesses can benefit more from using an all-service creative agency, or is it crucial to deal with mobile as a separate entity? And do you think that brands should place greater emphasis on their mobile marketing strategy in line with mobile growth? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital, and share your comments on our Facebook page