M:Metrics has some encouraging news for mobile marketers

A recent report from M:Metrics states that men in the age group of 18-34 are considered the best target for mobile advertisers in the U.S. and Europe. Men in this age group respond to text message advertisements and more importantly, access mobile web quite frequently. This has made mobile marketers take notice of this potential customer segment.

In Europe, mobile users in this segment are equally inclined to both text message adverts and mobile media. In fact, the numbers are quite encouraging for mobile marketers in Europe. In England, the number of mobile media users is 26.8% while in France and Germany it is 18.4% and 18.5% respectively. In fact, a significant amount of mobile users in England who belong to this age group prefer their mobile phone to TV, as they can get everything they want from mobile web.

The report also says that almost one third of mobile users in UK said that they prefer to respond to mobile ads and would like to buy products that are advertised. This statistics, more than anything else, should be very encouraging for mobile marketers in Europe.

Mobile users in the U.S., unlike their European counterparts, are not that much interested in text message adverts. They are more inclined to access mobile web for news and other information.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Debunking the myths about mobile advertising - III

When I first read this, I thought of writing a line-by-line rebuttal. But then, I saw no need for that. So, I’ll just highlight a few points and express my views on that. First of all, I wanna say that I respect everyone’s point of view. You’ve got your point of view, your own opinions, your take on certain issues, and so on. But Mike, I have a little problem with your write-up. That is, you went on to ‘assume’ certain things about mobile advertising. Let me explain.

‘It audibly interrupts your life like telemarketing.‘

Well; just like you have a DND (Do Not Disturb) option for telemarketing, you have an option for mobile adverts too. You are presented with a choice. You can either opt in to mobile ads or just say ‘no thanks.’ So, there is no question of mobile ads interrupting your life.

‘But you know that once the floodgates open, and the spam comes rushing in, everyone will hate mobile advertising.‘

Well; It may happen. But then, it may not. Why? Just check out - exhibit A and exhibit B. Perhaps the largest network carrier in the world, China Mobile, learnt a lesson the hard way regarding mobile spam. That, my friend, should reassure folks like you that advertisers and carriers can’t get away with mobile spam. There will be severe repercussions to face.

‘Some marketers are talking about respecting the privacy of users and putting consumer in control of what they get and when. Do you find that reassuring? I don’t.‘

Why do you think so?

‘And support any movement or legislation that seeks to block or criminalize mobile advertising.’

Don’t you think it’s kind of a knee-jerk reaction?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Rant.

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Different types of mobile advertising

The fact that text message advertising is the most popular form of mobile advertising is something that everyone knows. However, mobile advertisers are trying their hands on different types of mobile advertising to reach their target customers more effectively. Three such types of mobile advertising are rapidly becoming famous with both mobile marketers and people. They are Bluetooth advertising, video ads, and barcodes or QR codes.

Bluetooth advertising is something I’ve talked about a lot of times in this blog. With more than 60% of mobile phones in North America sporting Bluetooth facility, advertising via Bluetooth is a no-brainer. You can download coupons, audio files, video files, and other things via Bluetooth and this has become very popular with mobile users of late. Not surprisingly, the response rate for such ads has been very impressive.

Video ads are something that is a part of mobile videos these days. Most carriers offer free mobile content in the form of videos funded by adverts. Instead of placing these ads before or after the video, advertisers these days try to intersperse these ads with the content in such a way that people don’t find it odd. Product placement is gaining popularity among mobile marketers these days and they are trying to add adverts to mobile videos in a manner the user won’t find annoying.

QR codes or Quick Response codes are becoming rapidly popular. All you need to do is, scan the code with your mobile camera. Immediately, you’ll get a text message with more details on the ad. It’s that simple. In Japan, like I already said, this technology is a rage and it’s now popular in Europe and parts of the U.S.A.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Pay per call - The next step in mobile advertising?

With mobile advertising gaining momentum by the day, marketers and advertisers are thinking hard to come up with mobile advertising campaigns that will catch the attention of mobile users. One such idea is pay per call.

Pay per call is the concept of sending adverts to mobile users with a little twist. The ads will have a phone number which the user can call to get more information on the product or service advertised. This form of advertising is sure to get you a lead, as a person will call you only when he is interested in your product/service. So, if you can impress him with your sales talk, you are sure to get a sale.

However, pay per call costs more than traditional pay per click advertising in the internet. But it has better conversion rates and it’s been proven that people are willing to call the number immediately if they like what they see in the ads they get. This is especially good for retailers and small business owners who want to reach out to people in the local area more effectively. If you are a retailer and you’ve introduced a new product/service, the best way to inform people is to send mobile ads with your number on which they can get back to you. Since you target the local customers, they will definitely give it a try if it’s useful to them. So, this form of advertising is more effective, more targeted, and more likely to get better results.

So far, pay per call hasn’t clicked big time with local mobile marketers but experts predict that it could become a big deal in the coming days.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Blyk postpones free mobile launch

A few days back I had reported that Blyk will soon be launching a free mobile phone service that will allow users to make and receive free calls and text messages. But it looks like we’ll have to wait for some more time to see it happening. Blyk has announced that it will take at least two more months to come out with this service. As you might know, they architected this plan based on the premise that users will get adverts in their mobile phones and those sponsors will pay for the calls and text messages. However, Blyk wants to make sure that this model works the right way.

Like I already said, a lot of big names including Coca Cola, L’Oreal, Yell, and Buena Vista have signed deals with Blyk. Also, thanks to some good old’ cost cutting techniques, Blyk will be using the capacity of Orange, the very famous mobile carrier, instead of building its own multi-billion dollar mobile network. So, we’ll have to wait till October to see the most innovative step ever taken in mobile phone advertising.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Blyk.

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