In advance of Mobile World Congress, I revisited our 2012 mobile trends predictions with my colleague Julie Ask and we found that all of them are still evolving and relevant in 2013.

The trends we’ve identified for 2013 center on multiyear plans and scaled-up investments. Mobile’s dynamics of immediacy and ubiquity will challenge the notion that mobile is immature. Innovators will overcome any concerns about maturity to make big, strategic investments in mobile to pull ahead of their competitors. Differentiating with mobile will require marketers to develop the multiyear visions required to drive real change in their business and their approach to implementing mobile services.

When we categorized the key 2013 mobile trends and their implications for marketers, they fell into two major groups:

To summarize the key takeaways into three main points, here’s what we think will happen in 2013:

  • Advanced Marketers Will Integrate Mobile Into A Multiyear Strategic Vision

Mobile platforms will act as a catalyst for the next generation of connected experiences. In particular, smart apps connected to products and CRM systems will emerge. In 2013, leading marketers will anticipate the longer-term mobile disruption and shift from tactical efforts to more transformative mobile strategies.

  • Implementing This Strategy Requires Significant Investment And Marketing Control

Mobile on the cheap is over. Implementing the complex technology to make the most of mobile opportunities requires a new vision of how to interact with customers, significant changes in culture and competencies across business and IT, and more investment. Leading marketers will take back mobile ownership from agencies and services vendors.

  • It Is Still Early Days: Some Hyped Mobile Trends Will Disappoint

Indoor location, cross-channel attribution, responsive design, automated mobile marketing and targeting solutions, mobile “big data,” and other mobile technologies will make progress, but they won’t be game-changers this year.

Clients willing to know more about these trends can download the report here.

If you want to hear more about this – especially in the context of the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, I’ll host a complimentary webinar with my colleague George Lawrie on February 2018, feel free to register here.

What did we miss? Do you disagree with the above statements? In your opinion, what are the key trends in 2013?