Mobile ads start to get traction

Nearly a quarter of all cell phone users in the U.S. say they've seen an advertisement on their phones in the past 30 days, according to a report from Nielsen Mobile, which tracks these trends.

About half of those who saw advertising on their mobile phones in the past month responded to an ad, the report said. In the fourth quarter, there was a big jump in the number or people reporting that they had spotted advertisements on their mobile phones. In fact, this figure rose 38 percent to 58 million users who said they saw advertising on their cell phone, compared with only 42 million who said they saw advertising on their phones in the second quarter of 2007. Nielsen surveyed 22,000 active mobile data users in its fourth-quarter survey.

Mobile operators and content providers have been talking about the promise of mobile advertising for more than a year. The hope is that advertising can help boost revenue for both operators and content providers. Consumer advocates also hope it will mean more content for users at a lower cost.

But service providers have been cautious about adding advertising too quickly, because they are afraid that bombarding customers with ads will result in a backlash. But the Nielsen report offers some encouraging news that should help ease these worries.

According to the report, almost a third of people who use data services such as text messaging or Web surfing say they don't mind advertising so long as it lowers the cost of their overall bill. And roughly 13 percent said they were in favor of advertising if it improved content. And 14 percent of those responding said they didn't mind ads if they were relevant to their interests.

Big Internet companies, such as Microsoft and Google, are already adapting their advertising products to work on mobile devices. In December, Microsoft launched mini banner ads optimized for cell phone browsers and screen size when people visit mobile MSN portal. And in September, Google launched AdSense for Mobile, which will allow marketers to place contextual ads on sites viewed via mobile devices.

[Mel in Hi]

Give us the ability to block text-messaging

Charging users for inbound text messaging which you can't decide not to recieve is stupid. Now they want me to endure ads on the phone as well. H ll NO! I spend enough on cell phone service as it is (about $120 a month) I certainly don't want to be interrupted for a penny reduction, but I bet they will CHARGE me for delivering that message. Just like all the 'Hey have you heard about XYZ stock' messages that go through their networks.

[rockfish41967]

mobile ads and commercials

Great.....its bad enuff that we have to pay for cable TV and get commercials crammed down our throats, and you cant even watch news clips on line with out them shoving more commercials at you before the clip starts, and now shove some at you on the phone ..... why cant you people understand that some of us dont want our live constantly bombarded with crap... if i want to watch that stuff i will subscribe to the commercial channel..

[dargon19888]

Give me a break...

I just got a new phone and switched from my blackberry to AT&T's internet and texting plan.
Sure I have unlimited texting but did that give the right to have AT&T send me text spam?

HECK NO!

I was almost ready to cancel my new deal and told them that they violated their TOS. I never agreed to get any solicitations.

[sismoc]

"Mobile Ads" - Just Another Name For Spam

Please leave me alone. I do not want advertising following me like a rabid skunk. Enough already!

[Mergatroid Mania]

I think your statistics are backwords

The first time I get an ad on my mobile phone, I will return it to the service provider and demand cancellation of the contract.

Here, let me fix your statistics for you, I think you got them backwards.

They SHOULD read:

According to the report, almost two thirds of people who use data services such as text messaging or Web surfing say they do mind advertising even if it lowers the cost of their overall bill. And roughly 87 percent said they were not in favor of advertising even if it improved content. And 86 percent of those responding said they did mind ads even if they were relevant to their interests.

When you look at it the right way, people are overwhelmingly against ads of any kind, for any reason.

You get a paycheque from one of these companies or something?

[aka_tripleB]

If I EVER get an ad

I better be fully reinburst the bill for that month. I have never seen an ad that I have even been remotely interested in. Why would I ever be interested in "winning" a date with Steve-O or Vanilla Ice?

[drgononline]

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[digimint]

what if mobile ads were like call tones?

what if your friend could send you a mobile ad from a golf company if they knew you were into golf? what i mean is what would it be like if someone else knew your preferences and interests and sent you an ad that was actually relevant? would this change the reception of the mobile ads? it is kind of like sending a call tone to a specific phone number that they can hear while they are waiting to be connected to you. www.speechrep.com

[Sarah Keefe]

How best to target your mobile advertising

The US has a strong advertising culture so maybe we shouldn?t be surprised that US consumers are so receptive. So how do we take advantage of this opportunity. Here?s our advice:

1. Map the customer profile for your marketing onto relevant countries for your message. You may need to slice and dice the market so look at which mobile networks in these countries map onto your customer profile - Boost and T-Mobile in the US and Virgin Mobile in the UK have a youth demographic.

2. Only pay for traffic that you can convert so check your ad network can target by your chosen operator, country and device.

3. Then use Bango?s free mobile analytics tool -www.bango.com/analytics - to measure your ROI as it?s the only way you?ll know if you are hitting the right demographic with your message.