Cellphone advertising in 2007 - A review

2007 is almost over and we’re eagerly expecting the arrival of the New Year. So, it’s that time of the year when people look back at their silly mistakes, achievements (if any), resolutions they made, and all other useless stuff. I’m not gonna do any of them; don’t worry. Instead, I’m gonna look back at the cellphone advertising and marketing industry and share some of my thoughts with you.

The single biggest event that changed the course of the cellphone advertising and marketing industry was the launch of the Apple iPhone. It was more than just a phone and the truckload of features made it a favorite with users instantly. At a time when cellphone advertisers were thinking about advertising via text messaging and banner ads, the Wi-Fi enabled iPhone offered them a hell lot of options. Interestingly, iPhone is not the only phone in the market with such features. Blackberry, AT & T and T-Mobile Network phones, and a few models from Nokia also have Wi-Fi facility and other features that the iPhone boasts of. But the most important difference was in the way Apple marketed their product. The enormous hype created before the launch of iPhone was simply never heard of in the market before and thankfully, it lived up to the hype.

The second biggest event, in fact the one that almost outshone Apple iPhone was the launch of Google Android. Google had been timing the market to take the plunge for a long time and speculations were running wild. A lot of market experts and market watchers (including yours truly) had predicted that Google would come up with Google Phone, which could be the fitting answer for the iPhone. But when Google announced that it will not develop its own phone, at least in the near future, they had their foot firmly in their mouth. But Google Android proved out to be a bigger success, considering the buzz it created in the market. With its Open Handset Alliance with 30 plus big names, Google simply stole the show from the iPhone. I’ve already explained why Google Android could lead to the undoing of iPhone and it remains to be seen whether I’ll be proven wrong in 2008.

2007 could possibly go down as the most eventful year as far as cellphone advertising industry is concerned, as the year saw some major names like Microsoft, New York Times, Coca Cola, Facebook, MySpace, Fox Interactive Media, and of course Google enter the market in full fledge. Most of the industry experts and research firms predicted a huge growth for cellphone marketing and advertising industry whose revenue was estimated at around $1 billion. Also, it is said that in just about five years, this revenue could increase tenfold.

Also, 2007 was the year of acquisitions. Big players in the market realized the enormous potential of cellphone advertising and marketing and started acquiring cellphone advertising firms. We saw Nokia acquire Enpocket, AOL acquire Third Screen Media, Microsoft acquire ScreenTonic, Publicis acquire Phonevalley, and so on. This definitely marked the arrival of cellphone marketing and advertising in a big way.

Though 2007 is undoubtedly the biggest year for cellphone advertising, there are still some unconquered territories within the industry. First of all, mobile internet facility should be within the reach of the majority of consumers for advertisers and marketers to be able to reach them fully. A lot of companies have realized the potential of mobile websites and for consumers to be able to make the most of it, the price of high-end mobile phones should be brought down. Already, Apple has started the process with a hefty price cut on its iPhone and we can expect other handset makers to follow suit, hopefully. Also, thanks to mobile advertisers, the price of premium services has come down drastically and in a lot of cases, these services are available free of cost, thanks to ad-funded services. With some operators even offering free talk time to customers who opt in for cellphone advertising, I really think cellphone advertising has hit the target big-time. Its continued success though, lies only in the hands of operators, advertisers, and handset makers for they are in a position to lead the industry in the right direction next year.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Microsoft in 2007 - A review

The year 2007 has been a mixed bag for Microsoft. It had its moments, but overall it has been an average year for Microsoft. As far as cellphone advertising industry is concerned, Microsoft has made its intentions very clear – it wants to beat Google in the mobile advertising market.

It all started on a high note. Microsoft made everyone look forward to 2007 with its Vista and it eventually got released in January 2007. But little did Microsoft know that Vista would have such a big backlash. Despite the improved user interface and other things, Vista was not up to the mark and Microsoft was expectedly a tad disappointed.

Then it was the turn of Windows Mobile 6 which was yet another highly anticipated product from Microsoft. It was a good one, but the timing was wrong this time. As soon as Windows Mobile 6 was launched, there was the launch of Apple iPhone which is probably the most talked about product of the year. The iPhone simply stole the thunder and sold a record 270,000 pieces in just about 30 hours of its release, which was never heard of before. (Still, iPhone was not able to bury Windows Mobile completely despite the unbelievable initial sales record, which I will blog about sometime later). Microsoft managed to keep the momentum going as far as Windows Mobile was concerned, as it was considered good and got positive reviews from the market.

Later that year, we saw the launch of yet another highly anticipated product, Google Android. This was even bigger than the iPhone, considering the fact that Google kept us guessing for most part of the year about Google Phone and instead it came up with Android. Again, Windows Mobile was completely off the news for some time.

Also, 2007 was the year of acquisitions. The big players in the market realized the true potential of cellphone advertising and acquired cellphone advertising firms. Nokia, AOL, Publicis, and other big players bought cellphone advertising companies to strengthen their position in the market and Microsoft didn’t want to be left behind and acted quickly. In May, Microsoft bought ScreenTonic, a notable cellphone advertising company in the U.S.A.

In December, Microsoft started offering ads on its MSN Mobile page and became an active competitor in the cellphone advertising market along with Google and Yahoo. The U.S. MSN Mobile page has very good traffic and it’s got advertisements from big names like Bank of America, Paramount Pictures, Jaguar, and many more. Already Microsoft is a well-known name in selling mobile phone ads in U.K., Spain, France, Japan, and Belgium, and if the idea clicks in the U.S., we might even see Microsoft expanding its territory further.

Overall, it’s been an average year for Microsoft and it can only improve. It better get improved, considering the competition from Google and other companies in the market.

Categories: Microsoft.

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