Mobile advertising revenue to cross $2 billion - Says Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan has predicted that mobile advertising revenue in the U.S. could reach the magical $2 billion mark in 2012.

The fact that more than 85% of Americans, around 250 million of them, carry a mobile phone gives mobile advertising companies an enormous chance to reach a diverse customer base. So, we can expect a huge surge in mobile advertising revenues in the coming years.

The only concern, and possibly the most important concern, is that mobile advertisers and the network operators should see to it that they don’t cross the line between ‘targeted advertising’ and ‘invading privacy’. The very thought that someone, in this case mobile advertisers, knows where they are all the time turns off a lot of mobile users. So, mobile advertisers should be careful with what they do with the personal information of mobile users. If used properly, this could result in a highly profitable and highly targeted advertising model where both the customer and the advertiser are happy. If dealt wrongly, this could result in a major backlash from the customers. So, it’s a fine line indeed.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Google - story so far and the road ahead

Google is one of those things that most of us just can’t live without. At least, I know I can’t. It has become so indispensable in our lives that we find ourselves searching for something in Google every day. With everyone and their mother using Google as their default search engine, the popularity it enjoys is immense. It’s also the reason why Microsoft and Yahoo pale in comparison. So, when Google announced that it will focus on mobile phone market, a lot of people were surprised. I, for one, was surely surprised. I mean, why would a company which enjoys almost a monopoly in online search think of going into mobile phones? But apparently, Google knew what it was doing.

For long, Google has been enjoying the number one spot in online search. Yahoo and Microsoft were the contenders but ‘so close, yet so far’ was their case. But Google was wary of its competitors, especially Microsoft. Given Microsoft’s reputation to buy companies, a deal with Yahoo was almost on the cards. Steve Ballmer apparently told Yahoo board that together, they can be a great threat to the dominancy of Google and topple it easily. But the deal has not happened and Google, as of now, is still the number one. But for how long was the question. In order to sustain its position in the market, Google had to prove that it was not a ‘one product’ company. The solution came in the form of mobile web.

Why mobile web? It’s simple arithmetic. There are more than 3 billion mobile phones in the world. In just about a couple of years from now, there will be 4 billion mobile users in the world. In other words, there will be three mobile phones for every PC in this world. And to add to this, mobile camera, MMS, mobile internet, mobile video, mobile audio, and GPS – features which were considered luxury once – have become so common these days that we see these features in almost every other phone. What this means to advertisers around the world is that they have a new channel for advertising – the mobile phone.

Mobile advertising, as they say, is the next big thing and there’s billions to be made in the industry which is still in its nascent stage. We hardly go out without our mobile phones. We attend every call and read every text message we get. So, an advertisement in a mobile phone is sure to get noticed. Especially, if you can send targeted ads to people, it will have a bigger impact than traditional advertising. Add this to the fact that Google specializes in targeted advertising. The answer is simple – Google planned to enter the mobile advertising territory big time.

Out came Google Android. A platform which can probably make Google as big a name in the mobile web as it is in online search. But Google knows that this will not be a smooth ride. It will have to struggle considerably to cope with Yahoo, iPhones, Windows Live Mobiles, Blackberries, and more. But competition is something that brings the best out of everyone. Let’s just hope that this competition brings the best out of every big player out there in the market and ultimately benefits us – the end users.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, All things mobile phones.

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Pudding Media raises $8 Million to expand its advertising services

Just came across this news. Actually, the news was right there in Pudding Media’s site when I first read about their new advertising program, but somehow I missed out this news. So, here goes.

Pudding Media has raised about $8 Million to expand its advertising programs to an even bigger level. Opus Capital and BRM Capital have funded this amount to Pudding Media in an effort to help them revolutionize the world of targeted advertising.

On that note, I have a better idea - I will come in person to your home and overhear your chitchat with your family members. If I hear anything that is remotely of any interest to me/my sponsor, I will jump in with an advertising board in my hands. In it, of course, will be a targeted, contextual ad. How about that? Any takers? Now, give me my $5 Million.

Categories: Rant.

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