As communicators and marketers we are involved in a lot of science, research and speculation to understand what goes into the customer journey. We look to glean that magic moment when a consumer makes a buying decision. The one constant we know for the majority of our consumers is their smartphone is with them wherever they go (68.2% U.S> smartphone penetration 4/14 comScore).

Mobile is the most intimate, powerful and personal medium we have as a playground. Yet we have been a bit slow to embrace that the internet and brand utility are now in the consumer’s hands.

This is demanding a shift in how we strategically and creatively think about the where/what/when of a campaign. Any media experience we create is connected, and our task is to understand that mobile will be central along the journey to any transaction moment.

While we do not have to necessarily be “mobile first”, all of our ideas and solutions should consider the consumer and their use of mobile as a personal digital hub that is anywhere and everywhere along their consumer journey. Add in layers of technology available through the device like geo-location and we have a whole new way to think about proximity to purchase.

This points to how mobile media behavior during a campaign can give us a tremendous way to glean need states, interest, action and even physical proximity to purchase. If we understand the intended structure and message of our content we may start to understand the stacking order(s) of need as a consumer gets to the moment of transaction.

While we cannot predict every step of the consumer journey, we do know the key attributes and messages a consumer needs to support or incent intent and action. This suggests we need to refine and develop the rigor around what kinds of content and experiences we provide. We need to know what we’re trying to communicate and what utility we are providing along the way.

Any aspect of brand and campaign development demands that we start talking to our clients and internal teams about how to account for the growing role of mobile. After all, the consumer journey is in the their hands.