Will mobile ads conquer our mobile phones?

Request A Free Website Analysis

November 7th, 2007 by Nick

Google had a great deal of success with its PPC advertising & had the same ambition about mobile ads. Controversially a growth of mobile advertising in 2006 was on conservative side- only, $871m worldwide compared with $24 billion spent on internet advertising & $450 billion spent on advertising in total.

So what are the reasons?
There are many reasons which delayed any further development:
1. Only 12% of subscribers in America & Western Europe used their mobiles to access the internet at the end of 2006.
2. Most people think mobile screens are too small for watching TV programs or playing games.
3. While consumers are used to ads on television & radio, they consider their mobiles a more personal device. A flood of advertising might offend its audience, & thus undermine its own value.
4. Mobile operators have lots of databases with information about their clients' habits that would be of great interest to advertisers but privacy laws may prevent them from sharing it. As a result advertisers today need to go through too many different players to reach a specific demographic of mobile phone users.
5. Advertising so far has been limited to carriers' messages, ring tones, downloadable songs or extra cell phone minutes
Mobile advertising has a huge potential market & financial gains:

Today there are 2.5 billion mobile phones around the world which can potentially reach a much bigger audience than the planet's billion or so personal computers.
The number of mobile phones in use is also growing much faster than the number of computers, especially in poorer countries.
Most people carry their mobile with them everywhere—something that cannot be said of television or computers.
Yet the biggest selling point of mobile ads is call “relevance” based on mobile firms' profiles of their customers & can be tailored to match each subscriber's habits.

Where there is a new market there is always a new opportunity & neither Google nor mobile companies will miss it out.

Blyk
Pitching itself as the world's first advertising-supported phone company, a Finnish company called Blyk plans to roll out a free mobile phone service next summer , first in Britain & then elsewhere in Europe aimed at 16 to 24 year olds. Marketers want to reach this age group because they are beginning to establish brand loyalties, but it’s increasingly complex & expensive.
Under the plan, subscribers would fill out a questionnaire that includes personal details & interests & then receive a telephone SIM card offering a number of free voice minutes & text messages per month. Advertisements sent to the phone would be based on the answers & would be displayed in enjoyable & simple way.
Ironically, a new company built around an advertising-based model will work much better in this field than one of the established telecom operators trying the same as they just do not know how to mine their users for the valuable data that advertisers need & cannot compile the detailed demographic information.
Vodaphone
Vodaphone as well sees mobile advertising as a potentially lucrative source of additional income.
At the moment most of the ads are still text messages, although it has begun displaying ads on Vodafone live! through which subscribers access the internet & download videos & music.
It is also running several pilots in which subscribers receive free content in exchange for viewing ads.

Google
Google is seeking to co operate their efforts with US largest cell phone carriers (Sprint Nextel & Verizon Wireless) who would offer phones featuring software by Google. If the deal is struck, phones with Google software could reach American consumers by the middle of next year.

A deal with any carrier would be a significant step for Google, which has struggled to craft an effective strategy to distribute advertising & applications to users of mobile devices.
Because US mobile phone carriers maintain strict control over mobile devices used on their networks to access the Internet, Google began developing its own mobile phone software, which would let Google develop a new nationwide gPhones wireless network featuring mobile advertising that will help cut the cost of the phone to consumers. Revenue from advertising will be split with the carriers & will presumably be enough to induce the carriers to work with Google – reducing the need for Google to build its own network.
Phones featuring Google's software will be open to third-party software applications, meaning outsiders will be able to create programs without seeking permission from the carriers. This will make the mobile Web more like the traditional, PC-focused Internet.

IPhone
The iPhone is a multimedia & Internet-enabled quad-band GSM EDGE-supported mobile phone designed & marketed by Apple Inc. User input is accomplished via a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard & buttons. The iPhone's functions include those of a camera phone & a portable media player (“iPod”), in addition to text messaging & visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, web browsing, & local Wi-Fi connectivity.
Iphone is a start in creating a better mobile experience for consumers- with bigger & brighter screens it could accelerate adoption of the mobile Web.

Conclusions
So what is the future? Will we be surrounded by blipping mobile phones, teens addicted to brands or Google & Friends Empire which brain washes our consumer society with new shopping opportunities and artificial needs? Or maybe we’ll just switch our phones off and immigrate to Dessert Island? I would.
Bibliography

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7329730

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=70180

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9912455

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/01/yourmoney/mobile.php

Mobile Advertising
Mobile Advertising Although mobile advertising …is only a fraction of the overall advertising spend worldwide, mobile phone ownership outstrips TV ownership by 3 to 1 so there is no time like the present for getting your mobile search advertising started...
3 reasons you should have Mobile Advertising
Many people (myself included) are touting this year as the one for Mobile advertisings. The media corps have long since been battling to get to the front of the pack. Yahoo are expected to announce an the opening of their…...
The Mobile Web
The Mobile web is enjoying a raised profile due to awareness campaigns by most the major networks. Vodafone's “raining time” advert has been virtually inescapable, but will it actually mean anything more than a few pounds on your phone bills?…...
The Pros and Cons of Mobile Image Ads
Google have announced an new avenue for online advertising – Mobile Image Ads! Image ads have long been a big feature of pay per click (PPC) advertising. The Google content network is made up of a huge volume of web…...
Is advertising good or evil?
Some people say that advertising is an intrusion on what you are doing. Some people will say that advertising is justified if offering a required service or product. I see PPC as the best forms of advertising because it tapes…...