Mobile Marketing Masterclass: Lessons from Forbes and Anaconda

The mobile marketing sector is growing rapidly. In fact, smartphones have become the primary device for media consumption, accounting for 69% of time spent consuming digital media in the U.S.

This highlights the importance of optimizing marketing strategies for mobile, but spending more doesn’t always translate to improved KPIs. Traditional mobile marketing campaigns tend to be impersonal and untargeted, which often leads to customer fatigue. 

So, what’s the solution? Real-time, AI-driven engagement strategies that adapt dynamically to customer behavior and improve return on ad spend.

This isn’t theory—it’s happening right now. At Iterable’s 2025 Activate Summit, leaders from Forbes and Anaconda shared how they’re ditching campaign calendars for adaptive mobile engagement. Here’s how they’re doing it—and what you can learn.

Forbes Reinvents Customer Journeys With SMS + Email

As a global media company known for business news and rankings, Forbes faced a common challenge: how to reach a mobile-first audience with more relevance and immediacy. At Activate Summit, Senior Director of Marketing, Ken Pecca, shared the company’s journey with SMS marketing. 

The Challenge: A Flatlining Email Journey

Forbes Advisors’ email-only pet insurance journey had a low engagement rate—around 2.8% CTR. Pecca saw this as a disconnect between Forbes’ messaging and its mobile-heavy audience.

The Solution: Real-Time SMS Triggers

The solution was to create more compelling journeys for customers by integrating SMS marketing. This increased immediacy led to higher open rates and boosted conversions. But how did Forbes do it?

The team began by setting up an event for users to opt into via API integration with the product. Users who signed up began to have their data tracked so that Forbes could deliver user-specific messaging and offers based on what each user had engaged with previously. The team invested specific attention on compliance in this process to protect the brand’s long-standing positive reputation.

The Results: CTR and Revenue Lift

This user-specific targeting has had a profound impact on Forbes’ engagement and revenue. The company now has a 30% SMS click-through rate (CTR) – nearly 3x more than the CTRs for email. This increase led to an impressive 20% increase in revenue.

Forbes’ Takeaways for Smarter Mobile Engagement:

Pecca’s key takeaway from the experience? SMS marketing isn’t a replacement for other channels but an essential part of a multi-channel strategy. He recommends brands:

• Pair email journeys with SMS
• Focus on timing and testing to refine messaging over time
• Emphasize compliance, following best practices for opt-out and quiet hours
• Leverage data feeds for smarter, more personalized messaging

Want to see Forbes’ strategy in action? Watch the full presentation.

Anaconda Unlocks Global Engagement With WhatsApp

Anaconda is the company behind the world’s most popular Python distribution for data science and machine learning. At Activate Summit, Dean Iwaoka, Anaconda’s Head of Growth, presented on the company’s experience with mobile marketing. 

The Challenge: No App, No Problem

Anaconda faced a unique challenge—the company doesn’t have a mobile app. So, it looked for a channel that could deliver mobile-first value. WhatsApp emerged as the clear choice—especially in key international markets like Spain and Mexico, where users view WhatsApp as secure and personal.

The Benefits: Why WhatsApp?

Iwaoka explained how WhatsApp allowed the company to have richer, more trusted conversations with its community. Users engaged more actively, thanks to:

• Two-way messaging that feels native and conversational
• Rich media support for visuals, links, and quick replies
• Intelligent orchestration that powered behavior-based sends across the funnel

The Strategy: Think Regionally, Act Personally

Iwaoka believes this strategy can work for other brands, too. But he recommends approaching WhatsApp with a clearly defined strategy. Anaconda didn’t just turn on the channel; it tailored messaging to regional expectations. WhatsApp also drives ROI more effectively when combined with real-time engagement tracking across every customer touchpoint.

In other words, you should identify specific problems you want to solve and consider regional communication nuances to maximize the effectiveness of a WhatsApp investment.

Iwaoka also stressed the importance of cross-channel orchestration. Anaconda developed these capabilities through its partnership with Iterable.

Anaconda’s Success Formula:

• Define clear use cases before launching
• Adapt messaging by region to reflect local preferences
• Orchestrate engagement across channels for better ROI

To learn more about Anaconda’s WhatsApp experience, check out the full session.

Final Take: Mobile Wins Start With Smart Engagement

Activate 2025 wasn’t just about tactics—it was a wake-up call for marketers still stuck in campaign mode.

Forbes didn’t send more emails—they sent smarter messages in real time. Anaconda didn’t build an app—they met users where they already were, with meaningful mobile experiences. Both brands are proof that marketing’s future isn’t scheduled—it’s dynamic, AI-powered, and led by the customer.