Mobile advertising: New gold mine

The money-making machines are always the most talked about topic, so it is not uncommon for participants to 3GSM World Conference in Barcelona to only take care of "Mobile Advertising".

The interest in mobile advertising is increasingly strong, thanks in part to the new, up-to-date phone models that encourage all users to surf the Web. Secondly, the introduction of new mobile TV services, but above all, is the ambitious rise of MVNO businesses (mobile virtual private networks).

More than 2 billion phones are "headline" all over the world, and that number is also increasing every minute. Many people believe that mobile phones are the most private devices that people have ever owned: It is a companion - reliable communication for both ordinary users and busy business people. And unlike a printed newspaper or even a computer, it only serves a single employer.

Race the initiative

Those facts make marketing people want to lick the edge. They are excited with the idea of ​​being able to cut ads to their personal preferences to the maximum. And mobile networks, which once hesitated, now smell a huge new source of revenue, difficult to hold.

For example, in Europe, the Dutch company HotSMS is providing a free SMS service, if the user accepts to read a few lines of ads below. Similarly, Blyk of the UK and i-Wood of the Netherlands are also preparing to launch free (or extremely cheap) voice / data services in exchange for consumer nods before advertising messages.

Vodafone Group PLC, Europe's largest mobile phone network, is shaking hands with two search giants Google and Yahoo. While Google is developing a service that connects ads with search results (similar to the current online advertising sales service), Yahoo, along with Vodafone, develops ads in many other formats. each other, from banner to short video clip.

To make ads more appealing and interesting, Vodafone even plans to adopt discount policies for a range of services including MMS, television and mobile games.

Source: PdaToday In the US, Sugar Mama (a MVNO network owned by Virgin Mobile USA) gives subscribers many minutes of promotion, if they are willing to watch online advertisements, answer questions sent via SMS or participate in product / service surveys.

Another newly established MVNO network, Xero Mobile, offers more talk time for students and students in exchange for incoming messages and promotional videos.

Even the giants like AT&T, Verizon also showed signs of interest in online advertising, when this "phrase" appeared in their future strategic portfolio.

On this side of the hemisphere, the situation in Japan is much smoother. Not surprisingly, this East Asian country is always faster than the rest of the world in welcoming new mobile technologies. Mobile network NTT DoCoMo even ran a small banner ad on its mobile portal from here . more than 5 years.

Authentic gold mine

No longer an illusion, it is no longer a rumor, people have seen the opportunity to make real money from mobile advertising. Informa Telecoms & Media research firm predicts that mobile advertising budgets in 2007 could double compared to 2006, generating $ 1.5 billion in revenue. By 2011, this market will reach a total value of over 11 billion USD.

However, experts still recommend marketing, mobile network, MVNO and those who dream of making money from mobile advertising should "be very careful to enter this new field." The high degree of personalization of mobile phones makes this device unsuitable for mass advertising campaigns. In addition, for many users, advertising messages are as annoying and annoying as spam.

Mohr-McClune expert said: "Consensus" and "Appropriate content" are the two keys needed to open the future for mobile marketing. Mobile networks need to have "gifts" to convince customers to receive advertising, on the other hand, these ads must be very "relevant" to the personality, needs and personal preferences of the recipient if desired. be easily accepted.

All of the above arguments show that mobile advertising is more likely to appeal to the youngest. "Young people are very sensitive to fees, so they will be interested in free or heavily discounted services."

" If I get a free call or a fraction of the current rate, I will definitely try it, " said a 25-year-old chef named Michael Amos. Mobile service in Germany, where Amos lives quite cheaply, but he is still willing to jump into any more economical service.

Not a money printer!

However, mobile networks and MVNO businesses need to be aware that mobile advertising services are not instant money printing machines. There have been failures, such as Spotcast Communications opening a mobile advertising support service in Hong Kong in 1999 to then close in bankruptcy a year later.

Some other advertising support services have also been launched in Europe in the past few years but are for landline phones, and of course, they are not successful at all, because you have not heard of them. hours.

If the online advertising market has taken years to grow and generate revenue, the market for advertising on mobile phones must also take time. However, with the MVNO growing like mushrooms after the rain, one can expect a faster acceleration.

And everyone thinks: If you don't hurry, the piece will be cut off by another. So the race started again.

Trong Cam