Feature: Mobile marketing takes off

For everyone involved in the mobile marketing industry, 2007 was the year that mobile marketing started to establish itself, with the Internet Advertising Bureau (AIB) formally announcing its commitment to mobile marketing by launching a dedicated Mobile Council and a raft of initiatives.

2007 was also a year dominated by discussions about the value of mobile marketing, with many viewing mobile as the Holy Grail for advertisers seeking pinpoint audience targeting and rich consumer engagement. For the first time, advertisers could use the mobile channel as a significant branding opportunity.

From direct response campaigns to “text and win” and reminder services, the personal and interactive nature of mobile handsets makes the medium appealing to both advertisers and agencies alike.

Looking ahead, forecasts suggest that mobile advertising will be the fastest-growing part of mobile marketing, with Informa estimating its growth will take the global mobile marketing industry from $871 million in 2006 to $11.7 billion by 2011.

So what is expected for 2008? As the handset manufacturers introduce richer mobile handsets and as the uptake of the operators’ flat rate data packages accelerates, the mobile internet promises to be a goldmine for operators, enabling them to monetise their traffic and sell advertising on their own portals (as well as providing them with a search box on their home page).

The statistics are already promising. Awareness of the mobile internet on consumers’ mobiles now stands at 44 per cent and double-digit click-through rates have proved the true value of mobile in delivering highly targeted campaigns.

Mobile barcodes and improved payment security will also enhance transactions via mobile, and better Bluetooth planning will deliver better audience targeting by location and mindset.

Media owners, including newspaper and radio groups and content providers are also realising the benefits of mobile. Media owners are creating their own mobile divisions, and content owners are selling content for mobile distribution.

If the industry is to achieve its full potential, operators and agencies will need to co-ordinate their efforts to put in place reliable infrastructure and offer a means to measure and evaluate campaigns. Done well, this will persuade advertisers to allocate greater budgets to mobile and 2008 will be the year mobile really takes off.