More about CBS and Loopt’s location based mobile advertising campaign

I’ve already blogged about Loopt and CBS experimenting on location based mobile advertising technology. This, however, is considered a very important step in mobile advertising industry by many. There are two main reasons for this.

Firstly, not everyone is very enthusiastic about location based advertising. There are lots of concerns over issues like privacy and spam. With this being the case, this step is considered a very important one, based on which others might follow suit.

Second, the way Loopt and CBS have made things easier for customers in this mobile ad campaign is very impressive. To get an ad, you should turn on the locator button in your phone. The locator button will help advertisers find your location, even without GPS facility, as the technology pings cellphone towers and finds the location. Then, when you check out mobile websites like CBS News or Sportsline, you’ll get a banner ad based on your location. The idea of banner ad has a couple of advantages. First, it doesn’t clutter your phone’s inbox and second, it doesn’t interrupt you with rings.

You can turn it off at any point and you can opt out of the service any time you wish. What this means is – you opt in for the service, you get ads only when you want, and you can stop it any time you wish.

With this kind of a setup, Loopt and CBS are hopeful that customers will find this ad campaign interesting. If everything goes well, this might be the most prominent step in taking location based mobile advertising to customers on a large scale.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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JupiterResearch’s report on mobile advertising and mobile internet

A recent report released by JupiterResearch says that the growth rate of mobile internet has been impressive so far. In 2007, over 16% of mobile users accessed mobile internet and the number could grow by five percent this year.

The report says that mobility is an issue that can have a great impact on advertising and can improve the CPMs to a great extent. It is also predicted that mobile advertisers will spend more than $2 billion in mobile messaging and search advertising.

But the most important thing in the report, at least according to me, is something an analyst told about mobile ads. When asked about the performance of mobile ads in general, Julie Ask, a Jupiter analyst, had this to say – “We are finding ads with location tags are selling at five to tenfold premiums over basic ads.”

I’ve emphasized on location based advertising time and again and with each passing day, my take on that is getting substantiated.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

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Location based mobile advertising from CBS finds takers

A few days back, I blogged about CBS’ partnership with Loopt to experiment with location based mobile advertising. I am of the opinion that their mobile advertising campaign, despite the recent uproar on privacy issues concerned with location based advertising, will find a lot of takers, as they have very good arrangements to make sure customers don’t feel that their privacy is being taken for granted.

Now, it seems people tend to agree with me. Erik Larkin says that people will not find it intrusive and might opt in for it. Wait; did I hear someone say ‘wise men think alike?’

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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CBS joins hands with Loopt to bring location based mobile advertising

A few weeks back, CBS announced that it will experiment with location based mobile advertising and based on the results, will think about taking the advertising campaign to the next level.

It was announced that CBS Mobile unit will team up with Loopt, a famous social networking service, in this advertising campaign. The team has got two tailor-made mobile websites to run this advertising campaign – CBS Mobile News and CBS Mobile Sports.

As of now, these ads will appear on your mobile screen only if your phone has GPS capabilities and if you are a customer of Sprint Nextel or Boost Mobile, who have signed deals with Loopt. However, CBS is confident of getting more carriers sign a deal with them to reach out to a larger customer base.

Loopt’s GPS based technology will help advertisers send targeted ads based on the mobile users’ location. Now, to stay clear of controversies and privacy issues regarding location based advertising, CBS and Loopt have announced that this advertising service will be made available strictly on an opt-in/opt-out basis. Meaning, if you are interested in getting the ads, you can opt in and you can opt out of the same at any time. Also, they have announced that the mobile ads will be delivered anonymously and they will not store your location history.

Something that Cyriac Roeding of CBS said made a lot of sense to me. When asked further about the importance of adding value in mobile advertising, he said that this is a game in which the customer should win at the end of the day, for if he doesn’t, there is no game to be played. Spot on, I should say!

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Social Networking.

2 comments.

Two articles, mobile advertising, expert opinion, and a little rant

First, I read this article a few days back. I thought of coming up with a rebuttal immediately, but then I was too tired to do that. Thankfully, a few days later, Allen Wastler has come up with another article which makes a little sense.

Now, if you notice, in the first article, he had assumed that mobile phone ads, especially location based advertising, will be annoying for everyone. He mentioned that there is an opt-in facility available for mobile advertising – meaning you get ads only if you want to. But immediately he went on to add that he was not sure whether it would stay that way or people would be compelled to get ads on their mobile phone, even against their choice. Now – THAT – got my goat and other domesticated animals.

In this latest article, he has expressed his surprise for the fact that he didn’t get as many voices against mobile advertising as he expected. While a few of them have expressed their opinion against mobile advertising, an equal number of them have also said that they don’t mind getting ads if they were to get something in return – like subsidized mobile bill or some kind of value added service from the carriers.

This is precisely what I’ve been trying to tell people around the world ever since I started this blog. I’ll say it once again. Repeat it with me.

1. There is an opt-in facility available as far as mobile advertising is concerned. In other words, you get ads on your mobile phone only when you want to.

2. You get lots in return for getting advertisements on your mobile phone. Ever heard of Sugar Mama? Virgin gives free talk time to people who get ads on their mobile phone. Blyk offers free talk time and free text messages for people who get mobile ads. Talkster allows you to make international calls free of cost, thanks to ads. The list is just endless.

3. If you feel that you can manage your mobile bill all by yourself and don’t need any sort of freebies from the advertiser or the carrier, fair enough. You just don’t have to get ads on your mobile phone. It’s as simple. Nobody is pointing a gun at your head. So, stop screaming.

When I thought of starting a Rant section in this blog, I was wondering what to write in this section. But there are people who help me keep this section alive. Thanks guys.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Rant.

2 comments.

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