Page 204 - DMGT507_SALES AND PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

Sales and Promotions Management

Notes 11.6 Mobile Advertising

Some see mobile advertising as closely related to online or internet advertising, though its
reach is far greater - currently, most mobile advertising is targeted at mobile phones, that came
estimably to a global total of 3 billion as of 2007. Notably computers, including desktops and
laptops, are currently estimated at 800 million globally.
It is probable that advertisers and media industry will increasingly take account of a bigger and
fast-growing mobile market, though it remains at around 1% of global advertising spend.
Mobile media is evolving rapidly and while mobile phones will continue to be the mainstay, it
is not clear whether mobile phones based on cellular backhaul or smartphones based on WiFi
hot spot or WiMAX hot zone will also strengthen. However, such is the emergence of this form
of advertising, that there is now a dedicated global awards ceremony organised every year by
Visiongain.
As mobile phones outnumber TV sets by over 2 to 1, and internet users by nearly 3 to 1, and the
total laptop and desktop PC population by over 4 to 1, advertisers in many markets have
recently rushed to this media.

Did u know? In Spain 75% of mobile phone owners receive ads, in France 62% and in Japan
54%. More remarkably as mobile advertising matures, like in the most advanced markets,
the user involvement also matures. In Japan today, already 44% of mobile phone owners
click on ads they receive on their phones.

This unobtrusive two-way communications caught the attention of media industry and advertisers
as well as cellphone makers and telecom operators. Eventually, SMS became a new media -
called the seventh mass media channel by several media and mobile experts - and even more, it
is a two-way mobile media, as opposed to one-way immobile media like radios, newspapers
and TV. Besides, the immediacy of responsiveness in this two-way media is a new territory
found for media industry and advertisers, who are eager to measure up market response
immediately. Additionally, the possibility of fast delivery of the messages and the ubiquity of
the technology (it does not require any additional functionality from the mobile phone, all
devices available today are capable of receiving SMS), make it ideal for time- and location-
sensitive advertising, such as customer loyalty offers (ex. shopping centres, large brand stores),
SMS promotions of events, etc. To leverage this strength of SMS advertising, timely and reliable
delivery of messages is paramount, which is guaranteed by some SMS gateway providers.

Caselet Challenges for Mobile Marketers in India

here is still a vast gap in the deployment of such mobile marketing services in the
Indian telecom industry. Internationally the audience has undergone a major
Ttransition in terms of VAS (Value Added Services) consumption patterns. However,
we are far from the stage where these new forms of marketing will have picked up in the
Indian market. With tele-calling being restricted due to the norms of the 'Do Not Call'
registry and the overuse of SMS and MMS for mobile marketing, going forward, more
novel forms are expected to evolve. With the introduction of 3G, the mobile advertising
industry is expected to boom with a superior mobile experience and more innovations in
this sector.
Contd...

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