According to the report, mobile content, ads and websites helped marketers extend their reach by 13% over the reach of PC-only based campaigns. That increase was even stronger in two specific areas: weather and entertainment.
This is likely because most mobile users continue to go online to find a local restaurant, to learn movie times or to learn what the weather holds for a specific period of time. Weather sites, according to this report, are more likely to be accessed from a mobile device than from a home-based PC. Shopping sites, on the other hand, are equally likely to be accessed from home or to be accessed from a mobile device.
Though mobile is still far from mainstream, more and more consumers are logging on to the mobile web. With more websites being created for the mobile screen, more content becoming available and more content - from videos to mobile blogs - being created solely for the mobile space consumers are catching on. However, most still log on for specific information, making the mobile space a potentially lucrative investment.
With the right targeting, it is easy to influence these in-market consumers to increase the ROI of campaigns.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
M-Tel* has launched ‘M-Tel Free Surf’ a prepaid 3G tariff available to ‘Prima’ customers (prepaid). The tariffs which can be ordered via SMS – text to read 250 MB” or “25 MB - are as follows:
Tariff Cost per Included Cost per Validity
month extra Mbyte
M-Tel Free Surf 25 9.90 25 MB 2.56 30 days
M-Tel Free Surf 250 24.50 250 MB 2.56 30 days
Prices are in BGN and include tax at 20 per cent, BGN 9.90 = Euro 5.08
Connections are billed in increments of 20 kbytes
Pay-as-you-go for prepaid subscribers accessing the Internet is BGN 2.56 per 1 Mbyte, tariffed in increments of 100 kbytes, however billed in increments of 20 kbytes. Postpaid subscribers benefit from a lower rate of BGN 0.61 after 10 use of 10 MB.
By launching ‘M-Tel Free Surf’, M-Tel is attempting to increase usage of its mobile Internet service to a larger customer base. This is because by allowing customers to purchase prepaid 3G, they have more flexibility and are not tied to a commitment. For reference, the following per Mbyte rates apply as per the inclusive amount.
Tariff Per Mbyte Factor
outside bundle Outside versus inside bundle
M-Tel Free Surf 25 0.396 6.5
M-Tel Free Surf 250 0.098 26.1
Prices are in BGN and include tax at 20 per cent.
Postpaid subscribers have the option to sign up to three bundles namely 250 kb, 1.5 GB and 5 GB.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Europe Spain : Cystelcom Sistemas, a leading supplier of 3G mobile video solutions, announced the availability of Veedia 3G Mobile Marketing, a multimedia advertising platform that uses the video call channel to deliver targeted interactive video advertising to any 3G phone. Veedia 3G Mobile Marketing is the first multimedia advertising platform to manage and distribute video and multimedia campaigns using automatic outbound video dialing.
With over 2.6 billion mobile devices in the world, the mobile device is rapidly becoming the most popular gateway to information, and is likely to become the most popular media communications channel across the globe.
Veedia leverages this opportunity, and the growing interest and use of video call technology, to present this solution. Video calling is an extraordinary vehicle for mobile advertisers and operators to connect with their target audiences in a new and interactive way, anywhere - anytime.
Veedia 3G Mobile Marketing aims to improve the user’s mobile advertising experience by delivering interactive, enjoyable video advertisements—that contain timely, high-interest information—directly to 3G users. The Veedia platform can launch push campaigns that use outbound video dialing or pull campaigns that entice the user to make a video call to the brand portal.
Video advertisements are delivered by means of a video call, at no cost to the consumer, and provide a much improved customer experience. End users easily access the video content and can interact with the application. This means advertisers get immediate one-to-one contact with their audience and have the capability to capture real-time customer data and measure campaign effectiveness.
“Veedia 3G Mobile Marketing is a powerful tool that enables brands and operators unlimited segmentation and the ability to collect customer response information during the actual video call ad while users interact with the application,” commented Manual Cuenca Vélez, CEO of Cystelcom.
“This eliminates the mobile advertising problem that many have when trying to monetize their advertising on the mobile Web—knowing what end users are doing,” Cuenca explained. “Moreover, with the video call channel, advertisers and operators have a way to reach mobile users without them having to visit a WAP page—and possibly pay—to view their mobile campaigns,” added Cuenca.
Veedia 3G Mobile Marketing gives advertisers and operators the ability to earn revenue and learn more about target users through interactive call-to-actions during the video call that are associated with each advertisement. For example, users might respond to a survey, send a video message or even connect to a contact center agent in real time. While consumers interact with the application, Veedia compiles valuable data about how they respond to the spot, such as if they liked the video ad, how long they viewed it, those who hang up, and more.
Veedia 3G Mobile Marketing also integrates with interactive Flash based applications, which means what can be done with Flash on the Web can now be extended to a 3G mobile video campaign.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Let’s begin with what mobile marketing is not: It is not billboards driven around town on the back of a truck. Mobile marketing is, well, marketing that makes use of the cellphone, and it could potentially take many forms.
“COULD”? “POTENTIALLY”? ARE YOU SAYING MOBILE MARKETING HASN’T REALLY TAKEN OFF YET?
It’s very small — at the moment. Ovum pegged it at $45 million in 2005, while others’ bullish estimates are that mobile will grow from $1.8 billion in 2007 to as much as $24 billion worldwide in 2013. By comparison, according to Robert J. Coen, senior VP-director of forecasting, Universal McCann, worldwide advertising spending in 2008 will hit $653.9 billion. In his report, Mr. Coen does not even break out mobile as a media category.
BUT I’VE BEEN HEARING IT’S THE “NEXT BIG THING” FOR A DECADE NOW. WHY ISN’T IT BIGGER?
A multiplicity of issues, including pure technological challenges (there are hundreds of types of handsets in the market with different technological standards); the fact that consumers only recently have begun to use the phone for anything besides voice; and finally, when polled, people say they really don’t want ads on their cellphones. Of course, mobile marketers are convinced such surveys aren’t asking the right questions and that people really do want marketing on their phones, just not spam. The trick is to make marketing useful and functional — and give consumers something in return.
HOW CAN ADVERTISERS TAP THE DEVICE THAT CONSUMERS DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT?
Mobile marketing has taken, and is evolving into, many forms. The earliest and simplest forms of mobile marketing involve text messaging, useful for a variety of marketing purposes such as entering sweepstakes, receiving sponsored news or sports alerts or company information. Another early mobile-marketing opportunity existed around sponsorship of free ad-supported directory-assistance services.
The next big step came with the growth of the mobile internet on the phone. Subscribers with phones capable of accessing the internet were able to receive highly targeted banner ads supplied by the telecom carriers, as well as ads on content sites such as the mobile version of Weather.com. The floodgates of opportunity, however, have begun to open as Google and Yahoo ply their search wares to mobile — now the internet giants can combine search results with maps to the nearest pizza parlor or a click-to-call number for the nearest auto dealership.
IN WHAT OTHER WAYS IS IT EVOLVING?
The mobile device also allows for subscribers to make purchases and put the bill on their monthly tab and this is beginning to move beyond just buying ringtones, wallpapers and applications such as games (which can also be ad supported). Already, in Japan, mobile devices are used just like credit cards and are even fitted in some buildings to act as front-door keys.
Gradually, U.S. subscribers are upgrading mobile devices to include video, which, of course, can come with the familiar pre-roll and post-roll ads, not to mention ads which run on live mobile TV coverage over Verizon Wireless’ MediaFlo and AT&T and Sprint’s MobiTV offerings.
The next frontiers in mobile marketing are mobile coupons, social networking and more technology advances like the iPhone, which brought the full view of the PC-based internet to the phone rather than the condensed mobile-web version.
WHAT ARE THOSE FUNNY SQUARE BOXES KNOWN AS QR CODES?
A QR Code, meaning quick response code, is a two-dimensional, box-shape bar code originally designed for manufacturing. In Japan, the codes are common on outdoor, print and other media. Using a mobile phone with a camera and the necessary software, a subscriber can take a photo of the code and be sent directly to a mobile website without the tedious typing of a complicated URL or going through text messages. Some mobile marketing entrepreneurs hope the codes will become part of all U.S. marketing, much like bar codes, and some day will be used even to make purchases, perhaps billed directly to the mobile-phone subscriber.
WHY AREN’T THEY IN GREATER USE TODAY?
There are several barriers to adoption at the moment. People will need to be taught what the codes are and how to use their cameras to not only take pictures but to transmit them. Merchants, entertainment companies and others in the marketing world will have to be convinced to make the codes a new design element of ads and packaging. “It’s out there a ways,” said Dave Whetstone, head of mobile marketing at Publicis & Hal Riney. However, he said, the codes have the potential to one day be the killer app that allow shoppers to use their cellphones as a comparison-shopping tool at retail. Take a picture of a code on something you’re considering buying, and the device quickly and automatically comes back with prices at competing retailers.
WHICH MARKETERS HAVE SUCCEEDED WITH MOBILE MARKETING?
Optimism aside, it’s difficult to say. Most big marketers have tapped into mobile on an experimental basis. Last June, Coca-Cola Co.’s Sprite launched with the “Sprite Yard,” a MySpace-like mobile website. Sprite Yard promised to move the brand from generating impressions on TV to connecting its consumers through photo sharing, group activity planners and shout outs. After eight months, Coke, like most marketers who have toyed with mobile, declined to provide specific results.
WHAT IS MOBILE’S PRICING MODEL? AND WHO GETS THE REVENUE?
Pricing models vary, but some are based on CPMs, some click-per-call and, for some of the newer location-based ad campaigns, there is even discussion of payment based on geo-targeting of a person’s device within a designated number of feet of a restaurant or auto dealership. Revenue generally is split among the carrier, content provider and mobile-marketing enabler if applicable.
COME ON. NOBODY REALLY WANTS ADS ON THEIR MOBILE PHONES, DO THEY?
Most studies would indicate that is true. Yet, mobile-marketing boosters are confident consumers will welcome ads of value, especially those targeted to their interests. So far, marketers have been heeding the advice of the Mobile Marketing Association and others by requiring multiple opt-ins and holding back on mobile spam to stem backlash. And devising mobile ad campaigns is hugely complex, given the plethora of different devices and the carrier-approval processes.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- February 26th, 2008
- 1:07 pm
EnMobilize your agency or business…for free. EnMobile, a pioneering new mobile marketing firm, is breaking ground by offering a FREE introductory campaign for those companies looking to add mobile to their marketing mix. The team at EnMobile brings a confident approach to marketing, and will deliver a free campaign to prove to clients the success of their system.
For the most part, advertising and marketing efforts have often interrupted what a consumer is listening to, viewing, or actually doing. New technologies are now placing the control in the hands of the consumer. Through state-of-the-art mobile developed technology, EnMobile can assure that your message gets into the hands of the consumers.
Brandon Bornancin, CEO of EnMobile and an expert in the field of mobile marketing and advertising, notes, “Consumer control raises a major dilemma for brands and companies trying to connect to their end users. Companies are allocating marketing and advertising budgets to be spent on specific mediums that may never even reach the end consumer. Our agency comes into the mix to ensure that your message is delivered effectively and efficiently, right in the palm of the consumer’s hands, at any time, anywhere.”
According to NefInformer (2006), a majority of people carry their cell phones with them at all times, allowing mobile marketing and advertising to have a better chance of being viewed than any other type of medium. Mr. Bornancin acknowledges that on average 24-30 percent of text messages are forwarded to other mobile phone users, and that number is continuously growing. “This is a whole new realm of buzz marketing. We have seen people talk about a companies use of mobile, talk about a campaign that is being ran, and also forward messages to other users throughout the given target market. The benefits of mobile marketing are endless.”
The team at EnMobile is so confident in their abilities that they are offering a free campaign as a sign of good faith and confidence. The creative director, Jake Phillips, remarks, “We are experts who know generation Y and the target demographics throughout the mobile industry. We want to create a cutting edge campaign to better serve you. We believe so much in our team that we will put our agency on the line to prove to you why we are the best choice in mobile media.” EnMobile is offering any new business or agencies first campaign for free, but afterwards, the prices at EnMobile are the best in the business. “Our agency delivers unique and successful campaigns for a fraction of the price of other firms. We know what works, and the best part is we know how to get it done in the most cost-effective matter. Mr. Bornancin states “We know what it takes for an organization to increase capital throughout its business efforts; this is done by either increasing sales or creating new revenue streams, or by depleting overhead and cutting costs. Our patent-pending in-house mobile solutions do both.”
EnMobile is one of the newest and fastest growing agencies in the industry. The days of forced push marketing techniques are over. Mobile marketing presents an interactive approach and a firm platform to develop valuable consumer relationships. As our world evolves, so should our marketing, and EnMobile is poised to lead a mobile revolution.
To experience EnMobile’s unique capabilities on your own mobile device, text “ENMOBILE” to 95495 to view a mobile demo. EnMobile’s solutions are compatible with all leading mobile phone service providers including T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, Virgin Mobile and Cingular Wireless.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- February 22nd, 2008
- 1:47 pm
Latin-Pak. Latin-Pak, the premier Hispanic Direct Marketing Company for over 12 years announced today that it is now offering Hispanic Mobile Advertising. Latin-Pak is now getting clients messages directly into the hands of Hispanic consumers via SMS, WAP and MMS format mobile marketing. Latin-Pak clients will be able to target specific demographics within the Latin-Pak mobile database of over 2.5 million Hispanic users who have elected to receive mobile marketing.
Vince Andaloro, President of Latin-Pak states, “Mobile marketing is a natural in the Hispanic arena. Research has shown Hispanics are among the most active, and engaged mobile content users in the U.S. Further, Hispanics spend more money monthly on mobile phone services such as communicating via SMS than non-Hispanics. Finally, 31% of Hispanics who own a cell phone use it as a primary source of communication, so it is always at their side or in their hand. Talk about getting a message immediately into the hands of the consumer!”
Latin-Pak offers it’s exceptional high standards of service to clients who run a Hispanic Mobile advertising campaign. All of the Hispanics in the 2.5 million mobile database have elected to receive advertising via their phone. Targeting of the database, along with response opportunities that can be downloaded directly into mobile phones is available. Statistical reports are also offered to track results of Mobile Marketing campaigns.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- January 25th, 2008
- 1:56 pm
In Japan and South Korea, mobile marketing has been developed by mobile operators looking for new ways to monetize services and develop new sources of revenue. Marketers and brand managers believe mobile advertising allows highly targeted campaigns that reach specific segments of interest to advertisers. High speed access over 3G and high-end mobile handsets has expanded the base for mobile advertising, and new methods and advertising models are being introduced.
This study examines market structures, business issues, specific mobile advertising methods, and real case studies. It highlights both conventional and newly developed advertising tools, covering SMS, MMS, mobile coupons, idle screen-based advertising, ringback tone ads, hot codes and hot numbers, vehicle navigation-based ads, mobile search for ads, mobile games, and more. The report includes forecasts for spending and market values segmented by advertising tool.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- January 25th, 2008
- 1:53 pm
According to Wireless Federation,Mobile advertising is coming to a phone near you - but simply translating
existing models won’t work
The increasing availability of multimedia content is opening a large opportunity
for sophisticated forms of mobile advertising. As content that already
incorporates advertising - like live TV programming - makes its way to mobile
handsets, brands and entertainment content providers are beginning to see the
value of presenting full multimedia ads with programs.
Operators in the U.S. and Western Europe are currently either testing various
forms of advertising with 3G services or are allowing ads to be served on their
portals. A number of multimedia companies will launch advertising in H1 2006
within their multimedia offering. Furthermore, the entry of large online search
engines into the mobile world opens up new advertising opportunities in the
shape of context-based mobile search. What are the best strategies for success?
This report will tell you.
From 2005 when the nascent market garnered $255 million in Europe and the United
States, mobile marketing and advertising in these two geographical areas will
grow to exceed $1 billion in 2009, provided certain elements fall into place.
Issues to be resolved include business models and revenue share, the type,
length and frequency of ads, consumer attitudes and many others. Operators will
have to walk a fine line between maximising the revenue potential of
advertising, while at the same time not risk alienating subscribers and
increasing churn by doing so.
Based on interviews with key participants across the value chain, including
operators, media agencies, software application providers, access providers,
marketing specialists and trade association representatives, this 170+ page
report analyses the market drivers and barriers affecting mobile advertising and
marketing. It discusses the main market trends and charts the market evolution
in the US and Europe. The report examines mobile advertising opportunities
presented by MMS, video, TV, LBS, contextual advertising, as well as other niche
possibilities.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- January 25th, 2008
- 1:43 pm
Research,from Wireless Federation, shows that mobile marketing using predominantly SMS or MMS is achieving higher response rates than email or even more traditional direct marketing campaigns. Traditional direct mail only has a 1.5% success rate, says James McNab, Opera Telecom’s Head of Corporate Affairs. The success rate for permission-based mobile marketing campaigns, on the other hand, is about 25% successful in comparison.
David Bainbridge, the managing director of Yoomedia Enhanced Solutions (YES), suggests that mobile marketing can also achieve a higher response rate than any email campaigns, about ten times greater in fact. HR Owen, the car dealership, has seen response rates of 6% as a result of its SMS-based mobile marketing campaigns.
In fact mobiles, according to McNab, also out number PCs 10:1 and more text messages are sent than emails. Between December 31st 2004 and January 1st 2005 133 million texts were sent, and statistically speaking 94% of text messages are read and 75% are read instantly. The company’s research suggests that around 66% of consumers recall mobile marketing campaigns, and 36% of them say that “They are likely to buy products further to a mobile marketing campaign.”
Therefore, with around 91% of us owning a mobile handset of one description or another (figure taken from TXT4’s paper, ‘Maximising Brand Accessibility with Mobile’), the commercial potential for Out of Home (OOH) interactive advertising is enormous. It is also set to become even more lucrative with Gartner forecasting in an article by Indiantelevision.com on 21st July 2005, that there will be 1 billion mobile phones in use worldwide by 2009, and 2.9 billion by the end of that year. Over 100 million of those sales are expected to be 3G handsets by 2006.
Mobile-Upcoming Passion
One of the comparative success factors behind mobile marketing is down to people keeping their mobile phones nearly always with them, and it is also claimed that they often feel lost without them as if they have a personal relationship with their phones. It is therefore easier for brands to exploit this emotional attachment; that is so long as they adhere to the principles of relationship marketing.
Bainbridge, below, provides a potential reason why this may be the case:
“SMS is still generating very strong responses if the call-to-action is very engaging. Lessons can be taken from TV here. Why do 200,000 people play Who Wants To Be A Millionaire via SMS on a Saturday night? The answer: they think they are more clever than the contestant and vent their spleens via their mobile phones.”
This means that your communications with the consumer must, perhaps, have some emotional stimulus to influence a call-to-action. According to Seth Godwin such consumer communications must anyway be personal, relevant, timely, and it must add genuine value to him or her. These principles apply to any type of mobile marketing campaign, including those that use Out of Home advertising (OOH) to stimulate a consumer’s response and interaction.
OOH could become more prevalent as direct marketing budgets increase. The industry has seen how effective direct marketing can be. So with the significant response rates that mobile marketing can attain, directly to a particular target audience, it is now an imperative to integrate it into all other strategic marketing activities. It should not be seen as an after-thought, but integral to the overall marketing strategy.
What is Out of Home advertising?
Out of Home advertising is a way to encourage more interactivity with the consumer. So rather than shouting at consumers, brands can now have a more personal two-way interactive relationship with them, and as a result of this interaction it should be easy for individual consumers to receive something that is perceived to be of value. Companies are embracing the concept of OOH because it can help to create a call-to-action and, with mobile marketing being a key part of the strategy, the potential response rates are high and significant returns on investment (ROI) can be achieved.
In the old days, for example, a travel company would send you a brochure through the post, now it is possible to receive an MMS giving more information about the advertised destination, product or service. It is now possible for consumers to receive information in real-time, to self-serve themselves and this has given raise to technologies like mobile billing.
Consumers now see an advertisement on a poster, on TV, on a leaflet, in a newspaper or through another type of media, and dial a special number to receive more information about the advertised product and then receive either an MMS or SMS message, depending upon the type of mobile marketing campaign. SMS is still the main delivery mechanism, and Businesswire.com predicts that global SMS volumes will reach 1,000 billion messages by the end of 2005, generating more than $35-55 billion USD in revenues. Yet it is expected that the richer content of MMS, coupled with the re-emergence of WAP, will help brands to create more awareness of their products and services.
OOH: do you have a Bluetooth?
There is also currently much media coverage about the application of Bluetooth to alert mobile phone users who’ve the ‘discoverable’ setting on their mobile to the latest deals as they walk by a shop, a billboard that has a compatible device installed. The Bluetooth device (e.g. a poster panel) then sends the consumer a message asking if they would like to see a video or receive further details about the advertised product or service. Hypertag uses the delivery mechanisms of infra-red (IR) - which constitutes around 70% of all mobile phones - and Bluetooth ( which is in 20-25% of the mobiles in the market).
The problem is that, from a consumer’s viewpoint, Bluetooth can be too intrusive. There are some advantages to Bluetooth though. It can, for example, be used in areas where reception is limited. It could work in the London Underground, where Hypertag worked on a campaign for 24 and Aussie Products (Procter and Gamble) over a four week period last year. According to Jonathan Morgan - one of Hypertag’s directors and co-founders - 12,600 people interacted with the posters. The results in another campaign, which targeted teen-age girls for Pan MacMillan, showed comparable response to an interactive TV advertisement campaign that was broadcast to 1.4 million people.
In October 2004 the company worked on an O2 poster campaign; the purpose of which was to drive consumers into O2’s retail outlets. Each time consumers walked by a poster panel, they received a voucher to spend in the nearest O2 store. “This campaign worked by virtue of that fact that the information delivered was tailored to the exact location it was downloaded in”, he says while emphasising the importance of personalisation. However, he believes this depends on the objectives of the particular campaign.
OOH: MMS is best for branded communications
MMS though, believes one industry commentator, is better than SMS for branded communications, much easier to use than WAP, and a very effective medium to use in viral marketing campaigns. SMS messages are also limited to just 160 characters, and so this medium is quite limited albeit that its track record demonstrates not only its effectiveness, but also the potential impact of MMS as it becomes more and more popular.
For the uptake of MMS to increase, to protect the industry and individual companies, the distribution of spam should be avoided and consumers should be encouraged to opt-in to receiving such messages, so that you have their permission to communicate with them. Consumers only will react to something that is of value to them and interests them. Those that do send out spam should be clamped down upon, because this will only engender a negative consumer reaction to the whole concept of mobile marketing and OOH.
Speaking about Bluetooth, interactivity and Out of Home advertising, he comments:
“Again, interest is growing. The delivery of messages via Bluetooth is gaining some coverage, but we provide permission-based delivery of messages via standard mobile networks. People can request multimedia information wherever they are and, unlike Bluetooth mechanisms, there is no need for any hardware. So clients can use the call-to-action on any of their advertising media, from posters to TV advertisements - anything in fact!”
He also thinks that the ability to alter the delivery in accordance with the location of the recipient and the personalisation of the consumer’s experience are critical to the success of Out of Home advertising. Yet Gary Corbett, the managing director of Opera Telecom, doesn’t think that is it is so critical, particularly when mobile marketing is integrated with the communication mix. Still, he does think that it represents an opportunity for such companies as retailers. He cites one of the issues of location-based services:
“The end-user has to give quite specific permission, and the challenge is to incentivise end-users to give such permission. Clearly it is an opportunity for retailers to provide promotional information, but we see this as being a small part of the marketing arena.”
Data capture is vital too, he says, and this he believes is one of the problems relating to Out of Home advertising. It does not, in his view, enable a company to collate much information about the consumer, but by engaging “the end-user though mobile marketing, companies can convey some supportive information such as multimedia, video, call-to-action and collective information.”
With people already interacting with television programmes, the commentator thinks that it won’t be long before, they get used to and understand the idea of interacting with their mobiles, while on the move, with posters and other advertising formats. To a certain extent it is already here, argues Stephen Kendall Lane of Kendall-Wood International who focuses on the 2.5G market. Most posters and advertisements have a web address on them for consumers to find out more about. Not everyone likes to use WAP though, and not everyone wants to wait to receive the information when they next sit at a PC. They often want it in real-time.
Lowering the cost of MMS
The aim should be to take away people’s fear of the cost of MMS content production by automatically re-purposing existing content. MMS delivery can cost around 25-30 pence per message, which is quite high but in relation to other types of marketing mechanism, considering the potential for higher response rates, the cost is actually quite tiny in comparison.
McNab adds : “The cost of delivery might be higher than say the distribution of a direct mail campaign on smaller quantity mailings. However, if one was to compare like for like costs between the setting up of a direct marketing campaign and a mobile marketing campaign, the cost to run a mobile campaign is cheaper than a DM campaign, and responses are also greater from mobile activity. This is even more so now that it is being integrated into the cost of the whole campaign, rather than as a standalone campaign.”
Costs are a problem though for many consumers, and that’s why there should be ample information about the cost of receiving an MMS, downloading content, how long it will take to download and what the content is about. There have been all too many reports of consumers being sent unsolicited messages, and then being charged for being so fortunate as not wanting to receive them in the first place. Transparency is therefore a key aspect of the successful MMS fulfilment.
Ideally, the initial MMS should be free, and then a list providing information about further chargeable content can allow them to make informed buying decisions. Furthermore there is an opportunity for brands to sponsor MMS messages and downloads, an idea which Kendall-Lane very much supports, thereby either make content free to the consumer or reducing the cost of the content. The whole user experience has to be made as easy and trouble free as possible too.
Mobile marketing has huge potential
The wisemarketer.com, and other sources of research, clearly illustrate that mobile marketing has a prosperous future. Part of the future of MMS and OOH depends on the mobile content providers, the networks and the advertisers’ ability to provide compelling content and an ethical means of communicating with consumers. It is also forecast the mobile advertising will equate to 2% of all online advertising spend, writes Robert Venes of Netimperative.com who cites a report by Strategy Analytics in his ‘Mobile advertising slowly builds momentum’ and this is set to increase as budgets become more elastic.
Furthermore, with the clearly apparent potential of MMS and mobile marketing technologies in general to deliver high response rates, interaction and sales, and returns to the bottom-line, OOH advertising will increase and capture an increasing slice of advertising market due to its ability to deliver content no matter where the consumer is and when he or she wants it.
The Netimperative report shows that there will have to be some gradual steps to reach this point, particularly as there is still some scepticism to overcome surrounding the effectiveness of mobile advertising versus the more traditional methods. Once this happens the larger brands will more readily take up OOH and other forms of mobile advertising. Even so no-one should ignore its proven performance, and its ability to positively change business practices with the consumer firmly at the centre of a company’s overall mobile marketing strategy.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- January 25th, 2008
- 11:40 am
At the Mobile Advertising & Marketing USA event in San Francisco this week, agency execs blamed the slow progress of mobile ads in the U.S. on a combination of carrier constraints, the plethora of devices that all need individual coding, and a basic lack of understanding by their clients of what the mobile space can provide them.
Agency execs also point to the Apple iPhone as a trailblazing device that may open new mobile advertising opportunities, while causing developers additional headaches in the short run.
Angela Steele, vice president, global account director for Starcom USA, told event attendees her company conducted interviews with iPhone owners following the handset’s release. Compared to other mobile phone users, iPhone users often like their devices so much they hold a special affinity for any brand that has created advertising material to run on the device.
“It heightened the interest in mobile and the awareness of what is possible in the space,” Steele said of the iPhone and what it may mean for mobile advertising.
However, Dan Rosen, director of AKQA Mobile, stressed that the iPhone has seen limited market penetration and represents yet another platform agencies must spend extra time and money on as part of their campaigns, to make sure images will appear correctly. Rosen also indicated the iPhone is one of many mobile devices used by consumers, and each device requires a level of integration work by agencies to remain compatible with their advertising applications. In combination with U.S. carriers’ predominately closed and proprietary operating systems, mobile ad developers often have difficult obstacles to overcome with campaigns.
“Problems with carriers and their closed systems, and the phones and what they can do, has stymied us in the U.S.,” agreed Joshua Spanier, director of communication strategy for Goodby Silverstein & Partners. “The education part of it is also critical. A lot of clients don’t know what to do with mobile.”
At the event several agency directors described campaigns run in Europe and Asia with a deal of success, including Ogilvy Interactive’s Motorola campaign for the Hong Kong airport that allowed travelers to send video messages of soccer star David Beckham to friends, and AKQA Mobile’s “bar-finder” application campaign for Smirnoff in London. Those campaigns were successful due not only to prolific number of mobile users in Europe and Asia, but also to advertisers in those markets approaching mobile with the same level of interest as other mediums, said Maria Mandel, senior partner, executive director of digital innovation at Ogilvy Interactive.
“When I speak to my counterparts in Asia, mobile is seen as a key part of a campaign. When you come to the U.S. mobile is an afterthought,” she said. “That’s what we’re facing today and have to overcome. From a U.S. perspective it’s about educating the marketplace.”
Mandel also warned, often marketers want to attempt mobile video campaigns, geotargeted messages, or other mobile advertising experiments before they are familiar with what works on such devices. She recommended the use of short message service (SMS) marketing campaigns in the U.S. as a kind of “walk before you run” process before attempting more complex campaigns.
At the same time, Richard Ting, executive creative director at R/GA, warned that even SMS campaigns should not be tacked on at the last minute, noting on occasion advertisers asked for SMS codes to be included two weeks before a campaigns launch, when procuring those codes from carriers is a minimum 12 weeks process to complete. He also grudgingly admitted that his agency is currently looking to hire two employees whose primarily roles will be to deal with carriers and their complex processes in place to procure SMS short codes for campaigns.
When asked if 2008 would be the year that mobile advertising really takes off in the U.S., speakers agreed that there’s still too much work and education to be done before mobile advertising is common place in America, predicting instead that 2009 or 2010 will see more traction.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
Mobile increases online audience by 13%
