Monkey Business

Just out of a meeting with Mick Rigby and Justyn Lucas from mobile media planner Yodel Digital, a spin-off from media planning agency Monkey.
What a sensible approach these guys have to the mobile marketing world. They formed the company when mobile casino game developer Cecure came to Monkey looking for help with mobile media planning. After making a few phone calls, the company realised there was no on-one out there doing it in earnest – “It’s usually one 22-year old Head of Mobile sitting in a corner” says Rigby -  and so Yodel was born.
The pair told me that Yodel is trying to take a holistic, and realistic, view of the mobile marketplace. The company appreciates that mobile is not appropriate for all brands and all campaigns, but where it is, it tries to demystify the process of planning mobile advertising campaigns.
“You can run cross-network campaigns and target consumers by sex, demographics, handset and other factors, but most people have not bothered to put the effort in to do so,” Lucas told me.
Most of the company’s work is coming direct from clients, though Rigby says that Yodel has been engaged by a couple of mobile creative agencies. He accepts that budgets are going to be small while brands who may have tried mobile without success a few years ago are encouraged to try it again.
“It’s going to take a couple of years, but mobile is going to be at the centre of everything,” he told me. “We accept it’s a slow burn, but we’re happy to be in there now, learning the lessons that will stand us in good stead when it really kicks in.”
As we said when news reached us of Yodel’s launch, the company’s arrival on the mobile marketing scene is to be welcomed. Having met the people running the firm, it’s reassuring to know that they are in it for the long haul. In the world of mobile marketing, like it or not, that seems to be a pre-requisite for success.

David Murphy
Editor