Mobile advertising discussion at the World Economic Forum - II

I hope some of you know that mobile advertising and mobile technology were among the most discussed topics in the World Economic Forum in Davos. Among the points discussed, two things caught my attention.

First one being the statement made by the CEO of China Mobile, in which he said that people actually consider mobile phone as their extension and they use it continuously, day in and day out, to reach out their near and dear ones. He also went on to add that “if someone doesn’t have a mobile phone they will lack basic functions of what it is to be human.” This is one reason why I feel world will soon wake up to the power and potential of mobile advertising. When 2/3rd of the world goes mobile and feels it’s a part of their life, you have no choice but to devise a way to reach them via their mobile phones.

The second one is the point made by Zucker from NBC. He said that the mobile advertising market, especially in the U.S., is fragmented and it’s the reason why it hasn’t reached a point where it could be considered a mainstream advertising medium, at least right now. He said that mobile content providers are only paid 10% of the revenue and the rest goes to the carriers, which he thought was atrocious. This disparity makes it tougher for content providers and carriers to get along and improve the mobile advertising sector.

I think that’s quite a revelation. But like any other industry, it’ll be tough to get going in the initial stage for mobile advertising. One hopes content providers and carriers soon realize that it’s a symbiotic relationship and one cannot exist without the other.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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