In the world of marketing, mobile advertising is the way of the future. Advertising through this medium is similar to online advertising, although the potential target is much larger. In 2009, the number of mobile phones in the world exceeded 4.6 billion. Computers totaled less than a quarter of that. Currently, the amount spent on mobile advertising is only around 1% of total ad budgets. Mobile phone media is rapidly evolving. Approximately 90% of the United States population owns a cell phone according to CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry.
Mobile advertising has really taken off in countries like Spain, France and Japan. In Japan, 44% of mobile phone users click on the ads they receive through their phones. Japan’s largest mobile advertising company, D2, announced in November 2009 that the industry was worth $900 million in their country alone. There are various forms of mobile ads, from web banners to SMS advertising to in-app and game advertising. Other forms include audio or video recordings that are played when you interact with different services. You can get free instant access to the best mobile marketing newsletter.
According to Mashable, an online guide to social media and one of the top ten blogs in the world, trends to watch out for in mobile advertising include:
– Innovations via SMS
– Advances with rich forms of media like sound, games and video
– Mobile apps or mobile websites
– Geolocation as an advertising tool
– The role of mobile video
– Innovations via SMS
Of the mobile phone models available, 98% are compatible with the short message service or text messages. This form of communication is one of the most popular methods in the world. Text messaging is easy to use with low cost. No apps are needed to text someone else. Service providers offer a variety of options, from unlimited plans to plans that provide up to 250 messages per month. Even if a person opts out of a text messaging plan, they can still receive a message. Statistics show that at the end of 2008, the average US user was sending 357 text messages per month. Experian reported that text messages are typically read within 15 minutes of receipt and responded to within an hour, while email messages may go unread for several days.
Advances with Rich Media
With the number of smartphones saturating the market, rich media will start to gain a stronger foothold in the mobile advertising industry. Consumers prefer engaging, interactive ads designed through rich media such as games, sound, and video. One drawback of this form of mobile advertising is that it takes skills and time to create ads. Large companies have the advantage with this medium, as they are more likely to have the budget and staff capable of tackling this type of advertising.
Mobile apps or mobile websites in advertising
Advertisers have to decide if they are going to create a mobile app or a mobile website. Some will choose to do both. Certain factors such as operating systems, device types, and screen size all play a role in how they will present mobile marketing. Internet giant Google is going the mobile web route, while Apple is going the app route. Right now it’s hard to know what kind of platform consumers will prefer in the future. This causes many problems during the development stage.
In an April 2010 eROI survey, Trends in Mobile Marketing, less than one-third of marketers in the United States believe the mobile marketing experience is important to their customers. Only 23% of those surveyed reported having a website optimized for a mobile device. A Morgan Stanley Internet Trends report estimated that by 2014, mobile devices will perform half of all American web browsing.
Advertising with Geolocation
Geolocation is one of the newest trends in mobile advertising. Apps like Foursquare are place-based programs for smartphones that help consumers find new ways to explore their city. Although there is interest in this type of marketing, a recent Foursquare study indicated that only 4% of users have taken advantage of location-based services. Only 1% log into a location once a week.
Some concerns with location-based mobile advertising center around privacy issues. This is also the case with other forms that deal specifically with targeted marketing. When companies personalize ads, they use personal behavior data, user profiles, and other mental data information. Privacy advocates have warned the industry that this may result in a privacy breach. Generally, users must give their consent when opening an account for an application. This consent will override many privacy concerns. The Mobile Marketing Association has published guidelines to help marketers, but since this is a rapidly growing area, the Association has found it difficult to keep its guidelines up to date.
The role of mobile video
Internet video consumption has experienced tremendous growth with today’s Internet users. Due to this trend with Internet video, marketers assume that mobile video will experience tremendous growth as well. Cisco, the world leader in networking, believes that video usage will account for about 66% of mobile traffic by 2013.
Mobile advertising has definitely caught the eye of marketers and the amount spent on advertising is growing. Marketers can measure the effectiveness of mobile ad campaigns by the number of views and clicks, as well as other interactive tools. Swedish analyst Berg Insight predicts that by 2014, mobile marketing will account for 11.7% of the total digital advertising market.
