Mobile advertising is big business. Ever since 2000, when a small Finnish newspaper offered free, advertising-sponsored news headlines via SMS, businesses have been trying to cash-in by advertising on the mobile platform.
Fast forward to 2010 and mobiles are owned by 98% of the UK population, outnumber desktops by 5 to 1, and the mobile advertising industry is worth $546 million. This is currently made up of just under two thirds SMS text ads, one third display ads (including in-app) and the rest mobile search. Even Google and Apple endorse the platform with their respective purchases of AdMob ($750 million) and Quattro Wireless ($250 million).
A recent report from UK-based research company Coda predicts that mobile advertising will grow to $2.2 billion in 5 years. The numbers are more than respectable; however, the same report expects mobile commerce to grow by 65% annually to reach $24 billion in 2015, or 7.7% of all ecommerce revenue. For so long mobile advertising was heralded as the best way for brands to leverage the mobile channel, but recent reports seem to suggest that while mobile advertising is in a buoyant state, it is m-commerce that that will rule the time of the mobile.
Mobile commerce has come a long way from the days of buying ringtones from premium rate numbers. As phones became more powerful and 3G more prominent, larger goods and services started to be sold over the mobile network. First it was intangible goods such as games and applications. Then fast food companies such as Starbucks and Papa John’s started accepting takeaway orders through their mobile websites. Major players eBay and Amazon brought the platform to the mainstream, selling tangible goods analogous to their main site through their dedicated mobile channels. In fact, in October 2009 eBay announced it had already made $380 million in sales through mobile commerce, including a $750,000 Lamborghini!
As well as location independent shopping, m-commerce has the potential to be used to streamline any transaction. In Vienna, Austria, people regularly pay their parking meters via mobile. Stayed over your 2 hours? No problem, just text the meter – this is starting to take off in the UK too. In Lagos, Nigeria, migrant workers use mobile phones to transfer money without exorbitant transaction costs. And in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, The Red Cross raised $7 million in mobile donations within 3 days of the earthquake there.
Back in the UK, Marks & Spencer recently rolled out a new bespoke m-commerce store, and Argos are busy finalizing theirs, but why, this time, are companies so sure m-commerce is here to stay? Because this time the paradigm is user driven. Mobile commerce is not a passing fad or technology for its own sake; it is the natural result of consumers’ desire for convenience and location independent transactions. As long as the internet is within reach there is no reason why full commerce shouldn’t be too. And these days the internet is always within reach.
Mobile commerce has been growing steadily for a while, but now both businesses and consumers are ready and able to embrace it: the time of m-commerce is here.
Mark Laskey
Multimedia Developer
Showing posts with label mobile advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile advertising. Show all posts
Friday, 21 May 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
Marketing to Children & Advertising to Teens
With Brand Republic reporting Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Diner Dash Lite game ‘king of the apps’ over Easter, and Hitwise reporting a drop in UK usage for social networking site Bebo, signs of children’s changing digital behaviours are everywhere, yet how can we predict what will be the ‘next big thing’?
The most popular websites for children are often websites with a commercial end, or sites surrounding TV or films such as Lego, Disney, Cartoon Network and CBeebies.
As they get older, communication and social networking become more appealing. An Ofcom survey found a quarter of 8-12 year olds have a profile on social networking sites despite them being under the minimum age for such sites. LimeWire and Frengo are popular among teenagers, showing the appeal of group messaging, mobiles, sharing music, images and videos.
One thing agencies and brands must be constantly aware of is that children are susceptible to advertising. The youngest can often struggle to distinguish between reality and advertising messages. Teenagers will turn off when brands try too hard to be cool, or fall into stereotyping their age-group.
Marketing or advertising messages that young people can personally relate to, will most likely succeed. The message should be clear, simple and specific. Vague terminology or representation can be a turn-off. Brands that reach out to young people through schools, local events, on the high-street or through celebrities will often hold a lasting impression. They are more likely to remember you if they understand exactly what you do and how you relate to them.
Marketing and advertising to children can be an ethical minefield, but with companies such as McDonald’s spending $2billion a year, it’s big business. Bluhalo’s advice would be to do your homework, know the regulations, ask an expert and assume nothing!
Laura Hannan
Business Development Manager
Twitter @bluhalolaura
The most popular websites for children are often websites with a commercial end, or sites surrounding TV or films such as Lego, Disney, Cartoon Network and CBeebies.
As they get older, communication and social networking become more appealing. An Ofcom survey found a quarter of 8-12 year olds have a profile on social networking sites despite them being under the minimum age for such sites. LimeWire and Frengo are popular among teenagers, showing the appeal of group messaging, mobiles, sharing music, images and videos.
One thing agencies and brands must be constantly aware of is that children are susceptible to advertising. The youngest can often struggle to distinguish between reality and advertising messages. Teenagers will turn off when brands try too hard to be cool, or fall into stereotyping their age-group.
Marketing or advertising messages that young people can personally relate to, will most likely succeed. The message should be clear, simple and specific. Vague terminology or representation can be a turn-off. Brands that reach out to young people through schools, local events, on the high-street or through celebrities will often hold a lasting impression. They are more likely to remember you if they understand exactly what you do and how you relate to them.
Marketing and advertising to children can be an ethical minefield, but with companies such as McDonald’s spending $2billion a year, it’s big business. Bluhalo’s advice would be to do your homework, know the regulations, ask an expert and assume nothing!
Laura Hannan
Business Development Manager
Twitter @bluhalolaura
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Mobile Apps Advertising - could be better?
So this week's New Media Age lands on my desk this morning and I read, with a certain level of surprise, the cover article, outlining recent concern on the use of mobile application advertising.
The article highlights, that whilst many well-known brands are embracing the opportunity that advertising in iPhone and other mobile apps may bring, their approach could not be described as particularly well-thought out.
That is not to detract from the 5% of brands that appear to be doing it right, but what of the other 95%?
NMA quoted fairly shocking figures, with up to 30% of ads within mobile apps linking to flash sites which cannot be displayed on an iPhone, and the majority linking to sites not optimised for mobile. If only 5% of advertisers are actually linking to a mobile-enabled site, what sort of user experience are the other 95% giving the consumer?
In a world where both time and financial resources are increasingly scarce, it seems crazy to waste both, with a poorly planned and executed advertising campaign that just doesn’t make sense. So how has this happened?
In defense of the brands, it appears that Google’s launch of AdSense for Mobile Apps has caused this potential issue, with all ads booked via Google automatically running within apps unless the advertiser opts out.
Google probably should have made this clearer to advertisers upon launch to ensure the appropriate changes could be made to the search campaigns. However, contrary views suggest that mobile browsers are sophisticated enough to handle standard, non-mobile-enabled sites, therefore suggesting no change is required.
But if they are offering anything but the best possible user experience throughout their campaign, surely brands should not settle for this?
Marketing budgets are often fought very hard for, both to get and to retain, and if achieving anything but the highest possible ROI, they are certainly not doing their budget-holders, brand or objectives any justice. More worryingly, they could also be causing damage to their brand.
It will be interesting to see how industry bodies respond to the COI’s request for guidelines on advertising in mobile apps.
Jocelyn Kirby
Marketing & Business Development Manager
The article highlights, that whilst many well-known brands are embracing the opportunity that advertising in iPhone and other mobile apps may bring, their approach could not be described as particularly well-thought out.
That is not to detract from the 5% of brands that appear to be doing it right, but what of the other 95%?
NMA quoted fairly shocking figures, with up to 30% of ads within mobile apps linking to flash sites which cannot be displayed on an iPhone, and the majority linking to sites not optimised for mobile. If only 5% of advertisers are actually linking to a mobile-enabled site, what sort of user experience are the other 95% giving the consumer?
In a world where both time and financial resources are increasingly scarce, it seems crazy to waste both, with a poorly planned and executed advertising campaign that just doesn’t make sense. So how has this happened?
In defense of the brands, it appears that Google’s launch of AdSense for Mobile Apps has caused this potential issue, with all ads booked via Google automatically running within apps unless the advertiser opts out.
Google probably should have made this clearer to advertisers upon launch to ensure the appropriate changes could be made to the search campaigns. However, contrary views suggest that mobile browsers are sophisticated enough to handle standard, non-mobile-enabled sites, therefore suggesting no change is required.
But if they are offering anything but the best possible user experience throughout their campaign, surely brands should not settle for this?
Marketing budgets are often fought very hard for, both to get and to retain, and if achieving anything but the highest possible ROI, they are certainly not doing their budget-holders, brand or objectives any justice. More worryingly, they could also be causing damage to their brand.
It will be interesting to see how industry bodies respond to the COI’s request for guidelines on advertising in mobile apps.
Jocelyn Kirby
Marketing & Business Development Manager
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