Mobile ads have better recall rates than TV ads

How do you judge the impact of an advertisement? How do you find out if it was effective or not? In most cases, you go by brand recall - the ability of the customer to recall your brand after being shown the ad a few times. Until now, TV was considered the best medium to place ads as it had the highest brand recall rates. But mobile advertising has simply changed everything.

According to reports from analysts, mobile ads have higher recall rates than TV ads. At the recent Mobile Advertising Degree conference, the representatives of Verizon Wireless emphasized the same fact. They also added that despite being costlier, mobile ads are preferred over online ads because they have a phenomenal click through rate.

This is incredible. I’ll explain you why. First, TV has a huge reach. Second, ads in TV are so common that people no longer consider them a problem. Third, a TV screen is more fit for rich ads and watching an ad on a TV screen could be actually fun.

Now, let me compare this with mobile phones. First, a mobile phone, until now, is not considered a primary advertising medium. Second, ads in mobile are considered intrusive by many, so you can’t expect mobile advertisers to start sending ads to all and sundry. Third, watching an ad on a mobile screen, especially a low end mobile phone’s screen, is not exactly a great experience.

Going by what I’ve said above, anyone can say that the odds are stacked against mobile advertising. But guess what? Mobile ads have a phenomenal click through rate of 2% and more, which is way better than online ads.

Now, just imagine. If these kinds of results are possible right now, what could be the case in future when we have more high-end mobile phones, richer ad formats, improved technology, and most importantly, an open-minded society which is not averse to mobile ads? All I can say is one word – unimaginable.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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So, what’s your take on cellphone advertising?

Right from tomorrow, you will be charged $100 a month for watching TV at home and $50 a month for listening to radio. Wait; there is a catch. From tomorrow, there will be no advertisements on TV and radio to interrupt you while you’re watching your favorite show. Doesn’t sound that exciting, does it?

What went wrong people? You hate ads; don’t you? You get annoyed whenever you get ads, you don’t like being interrupted while you’re watching your favorite show or your favorite movie for that matter, and you get annoyed big time when you get an ad in the radio when you’re listening to the latest news. So, pay the money and enjoy ad-free television and radio. Wait; did I hear you say “adverts are a part of television and radio broadcasting as they need to keep it free for people”?

Bingo; you’re right on the money. They have advertisers backing them up so that you can enjoy TV and radio without paying a dime. Now, what exactly is wrong in applying the same method in cellphones, could you please tell me?

The moment someone mentions cellphone ads, you jump over the roof shouting, “harassment, intrusion, violation of privacy, annoying” and every other word in your vocabulary; don’t you? What if the operators were to provide you with unlimited internet access if you agreed to get ads on your cellphone? Or what if the advertisers were to bear the costs of your text messages if you agreed to accept text message ads on your phone? Or even better, what if they give you free talk time if you agreed to listen to audio ads instead of a ringback tone? Doesn’t it sound freaking good?

I just want to know. Why the hell would anyone have problems with cellphone ads? If TV and radio can play ads any time they want, without your permission, 24 hours a day, why not cellphones? And that too, when you have the option to choose or reject your ads on your cellphone, why on earth would you have a problem? Beats me.

Remember these golden rules.

1. Cellphone advertisers are not vampires. They only send you relevant ads, in other words, something (read offers, discounts, and freebies) which you could make use of.

2. They do give you a choice to opt in or opt out of any advertising plan. It’s not that they point a gun at your head to make you get ads.

3. Most importantly, cellphone advertising is here to stay – irrespective of the hoopla created by a bunch of privacy advocates who don’t even understand the essence of the issue.

Hope that clears all the misconceptions about cellphone advertising. Now, next time when I hear someone say anything stupid about cellphone advertising, I’m gonna put them under the special plan I mentioned in the first paragraph. Ciao.

Categories: Rant.

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