Mobile advertising in India will be a $100 million market soon

With over 270 million mobile users, India is considered probably the hottest mobile phone market in the world. With this being the case, mobile advertisers are trying to cash in on the opportunity, as expected. As we’ve already seen, Indian operators are excited about mobile advertising and they see it as a potential long term revenue generating model. So, it’s only a matter of time before mobile advertising takes off big time in India.

Industry experts have predicted that mobile phone advertising in India would be worth more than $100 million in just a few years from now. Considering the market is currently valued at a measly $1million, it looks like quite a prediction. But experts firmly believe that the Indian market has the potential to become one of the top players in the world as far as mobile advertising is concerned. However, there are a couple of issues which need to be addressed to make this happen.

First, the cost of mobile web should be brought down. Though data plans in India are pretty much affordable, mobile web is one area where they can bring down the cost furthermore to attract more users to use the mobile internet facility regularly.

Second, the issue of revenue sharing between advertisers and mobile operators is an area of concern. Right now, the ratio is 70:30 with 70% of the revenue going to mobile operators and 30% going to advertisers. Understandably, advertisers are not exactly happy with this disproportionate sharing and they want this ratio to be revised.

Experts say that if mobile operators and advertisers could address these issues, the market may reach the $100 million mark sooner than later.

I actually think the issues mentioned here are common for markets all over the world. Even in the U.S., not everyone with a web-enabled phone is enthusiastic about surfing the web regularly, as the data plans are pretty costly. And the issue of disproportionate revenue sharing is not unheard of either, as the spat between Verizon and Google is well known. So, it’s basically an inherent flaw in the system. Unless people address this issue, there will always be hurdles in the path.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Microsoft talks about Windows Mobile and Zune Phone

With Google gearing up to release Android, Apple gearing up to release its next-gen iPhone, people looked at Microsoft to come up with something new. There were rumors going on that Microsoft was actually planning to release a Zune phone which will be in the league of the iPhone and Blackberry. However, in a recent interview, Robbie Bach, the man behind Xbox, Zune, and Windows Live Mobile, has rubbished these rumors and has made Microsoft’s stand very clear.

Robbie said that Microsoft is not interested in developing an iPhone clone or a Blackberry clone. Instead, the company will focus on making Windows Live Mobile much better than what it is right now.

He also went on to say that people no longer look at their mobile phone as a mere tool for communication. People want to check emails, listen to music, surf the internet, send and receive photos, and watch videos on their mobile phone. So, Microsoft will work on making Windows Live Mobile capable of catering to a wide range of needs of mobile users.

On answering a question on mobile advertising, Robbie mentioned that while mobile phone advertising is certainly the way forward, it will be different from online advertising as it will be more personal.

I personally don’t want to see Microsoft coming up with a smart phone or whatever. We already have enough choices when it comes to mobile phones. What we need is a mobile platform which can take our mobile phone experience to the next level. That’s the reason why I’m excited about Google Android, Apple’s next-gen iPhone, and the improved Windows Live Mobile.

Don’t you think it’s easy to choose a platform which offers you everything you would probably want on a mobile phone than to choose a different, ‘latest model’ mobile phone every other month?

Categories: All things mobile phones, Microsoft.

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Mobicom and Qkey Holdings to launch a unique interactive advertising platform

Mobicom Corp. has joined hands with Qkey Holdings, a digital marketing platform developer. Qkey Holdings has a unique platform which has generated a lot of buzz in the market. In fact, this particular platform is probably the reason why Mobicom signed a joint venture agreement with Qkey Holdings.

So, what’s so special about this platform? It changes an outdoor advertisement like billboard into a mobile based one. Qkey platform has an interactive advertising technology which enables the user to access the outdoor billboard ad through his mobile phone and get the information he wants downloaded in his mobile phone or in his email.

This process takes the revolutionary step of connecting two different forms of advertising – outdoor advertising and mobile phone advertising. Mobicom Corp. is pretty upbeat about this joint venture and thinks this will get a good response from people.

Mobicom is planning to launch this platform first in Asia and has plans to launch it in other markets depending on the response they get from the Asian market. South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, and Malaysia are the countries they’ve decided to launch this platform in.

The reason behind Mobicom’s decision to launch the platform first in Asia is very simple. In China, 17% of the total amount spent on advertising goes to outdoor advertising like billboards whereas in the U.S., only around 4% goes to outdoor advertising. So, the response for the platform will be obviously better in the Asian markets.

I think the platform will be a success in the Asian market. The real test though would be in the American and European markets where this kind of advertising is not as popular as it is in Asia.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Mobile phones in India to come preloaded with ads?

With a mobile user base of around 250 million and growing, India continues to be the hottest market for mobile phone manufacturers. However, the rates of mobile phones have gone down sharply over the years. There are two main reasons for this.

First, the target customer segment of mobile phone manufacturers as far as India is concerned is the middle class people. According to surveys, the number of middle class people in India is estimated close to 300 million. In order to target this segment, mobile phone manufacturers have introduced new models which cost very little. And since the middle class also happens to be the most active customer segment in India, the low-priced models usually sell well, leaving the mobile manufacturers with no option but to continue with them.

Second, there is hellacious competition in the market. Both CDMA and GSM phone manufacturers are hell bent on capturing the biggest market share and as a result, they’ve cut down their prices sharply.

As a result, you can now get a mobile phone for just over $20 in India. Due to this reason, mobile phone manufacturers are looking for different ways to make money. One such way is mobile phone advertising.

Already, Nokia is planning to generate revenue through its mobile internet platform Ovi. Also, some of the mobile phone manufacturers in India are in talks with UK based mobile media firm Affle.

Especially, Affle’s SMS2.0, a mobile application, seems to have caught a lot of attention. This application adds a lot of new features like color, graphics, signature, and emoticons to an otherwise ordinary text messaging service. When the customer sends a text message using this application, there will be an ad at the bottom of the message and a full-screen ad while the message is being sent. Affle is also planning to add features like social networking and mobile search to this application.

Some of the big names in India including Airtel are interested in this technology and might soon incorporate it in their handsets. There are plans of releasing handsets which will have this application preinstalled. However, mobile manufactures might want to test the waters and see the user response for such handsets before taking any major decision.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Watch what you say about Apple

Regular readers of this blog might know that I’m not exactly a politically correct person and I say just what I want to say. I’ve written for and against a lot of issues regarding mobile phones, mobile phone advertising, and other things. But from now on, I shall restrain myself when I write about Apple iPhone. Or anything Apple for that matter. Not that I’ve changed my writing style or taken a course on political correctness or something. I read the New York Times today. Dan Mitchell had something to say about Apple fans and their so called ‘thin skin.’ Read it and decide it for yourself.

Categories: Rant, Apple iPhone, All things mobile phones.

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