Future of Mobile Advertising - Notes from Cannes Lions Ad Festival 2009

Mobile advertising was one of the important topics which were discussed at the 56th International Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. A number of executives representing big advertising and marketing firms around the world discussed the future of mobile marketing.

A lot of people who discussed the future of mobile phone advertising were of the opinion that it could become really big in the next two or three years. There are two reasons why they believe so.

1. The large number of mobile applications designed exclusively for smart phones which allow users to access multimedia content right from their mobile phones.

2. The ever-growing popularity of social networks like MySpace and Facebook which can be accessed right from the mobile phone thanks to mobile social networking.

Statistics show that mobile advertising has grown at an average of 45% in the last five years, which is incredible to say the least. In other words, what used to be a $3 billion industry has now become a whopping $30 billion industry in just about five years.

Let us now take a look at some of the most important points discussed.

1. A lot of executives said that they have launched a lot of mobile advertising campaigns in the recent past and the response so far has been pretty good.

2. Almost everyone was of the opinion that advertisers need to be more creative to generate interest among users. They were very clear that run of the mill ads which interrupt users every two minutes will definitely not work.

3. It was predicted that in the next three to five years, mobile marketing will account for nearly 10% of global media ad spending.

4. Highly targeted local mobile advertising campaigns will generate enormous amount of interest among small retailers. (Incidentally, this is something that I have repeatedly said in this blog. You can take a look at it here, here, here, and here.)

5. Emerging markets like Africa and Latin America hold a lot of promise as the number of mobile users has increased steadily in the past few years.

6. One of the biggest hurdles for advertisers around the world is the lack of compatibility between 3G networks in Asia and Europe.

7. 4G – the fourth generation high speed mobile technology – is something that advertising firms around the world are waiting for with bated breath. It is expected to hit the market in another ten years or so.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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MobiAd - a new mobile advertising service in the Middle East

Zain, a very famous mobile phone service provider in the Middle East and Africa, has joined hands with Javna, a software and wireless solutions firm, to launch MobiAd – a one-of-a-kind mobile advertising service.

People behind this collaborative effort are very confident about their mobile marketing service. In MobiAd, customers can choose the ‘channel’ they are interested in. It could be sports, consumer electronics, marketing, or technology – you can choose the channel and you will get mobile ads accordingly. As a customer, you will also be rewarded with freebies like free local calls, free international calls, free text messages, and random gifts to appreciate your taking part in the mobile advertising service.

This news is very important for a reason. The Middle East market is considered one of the most lucrative markets for mobile advertising and this launch can have a great impact in future. In fact, the mobile advertising market share in this part of the world is estimated at around a whopping $7 billion annually.

This is great news for mobile advertisers in the Middle East. As we already know, Asia is a little ahead of other markets in terms of mobile advertising technologies and the revenue generated. But with efforts like this, other markets are catching up very fast, which is good for the mobile advertising industry as a whole.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Mobile phone growth in the U.S. and Asia - A perspective

When it comes to mobile phone market, not many people know that the U.S. is not the market leader. Instead, Asia beats everyone left, right, and center. Asia has been the hub for mobile phones for quite some time now and the surprising fact is, Asia leads in not just the number of mobile phones or mobile connections, but also in the kind of mobile technology that is being used.

How about this for a sample? In Japan, you can play games and fast forward through MP3 tracks with just a flick of your finger, literally. Certain mobile phones in Japan come with built-in motion sensors which let you do this at your comfort. Also, you can point your mobile phones at a big commercial complex and your mobile phone will display information about the building like what’s in there, how to get to a particular shop in the building, and even the daily special in the restaurant. This facility is available in certain models of Sony Ericsson and DoCoMo.

China has gone one step ahead and has come up with a technology through which mobile users can get live broadcasts of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The best part is, you’ll not get streaming videos that are pretty slow. Here, the signals from China’s mobile TV will be transmitted straight to a UHF/VHF antenna which is inbuilt in the mobile phones, and you will be able to get 50 times the normal bandwidth, which, needless to say, will be very quick and easier to watch.

As of now, technologies such as this are almost unheard of in the U.S. However, a lot of experts believe that the 700 MHz auction will change things significantly in the U.S. They actually predict a third network apart from Cellular and Wi-Fi/WiMax, which will make mobile phone market in the U.S. a fast growing one. Soon, people in the U.S. will be able to switch their handsets at their wish without having to change the provider. Well; we’re all waiting for that day, aren’t we?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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On how mobile advertising could be improved in the US

It is a well established fact that the Asian market is far more sophisticated and developed than the West, when it comes to mobile advertising. Services like MMS, mobile internet, and mobile video, things which are considered premium services in the U.S., are commonplace with mobile users in Asia. Thanks to this, mobile advertising is far more developed in Asia.

Mobile advertising experts point out that in Asia, mobile phone is an integral part of any advertising campaign, while in the U.S., it’s only considered an afterthought. There are several reasons for this. The relationship between mobile content providers and network carriers is not good, as they have disputes over revenue sharing. Also, the U.S. market in general needs to be educated a lot about mobile advertising and the kind of impact it can have in making a product/service reach out to its target customers.

What could be the solution? Firstly, mobile content providers and carriers need to settle their disputes and understand that by working together, they can profit way more through mobile advertising. Also, the market in general needs to be educated a lot about mobile advertising.

For example, I still get mails from people who read this blog asking questions like “I’m not selling my mobile inbox to anyone”, “Why do you want to know where I am and what I am doing?”, and “Why should I let someone profit from my mobile phone?”, yada, yada, yada. You get the drift? These people need to be educated and made to understand the point that mobile advertising is not some kind of a monster trying to gobble you. For which, I suggest you guys read this, this, and this.

Well; a lot of changes need to be made. But when you look at this on a positive note, you’ll realize that despite all these issues, mobile advertising has become notably important in the market today. So, let’s just hope that the West will soon catch up with Asia in mobile advertising.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Rant.

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