As consumer demand for mobile broadband services reaches critical mass"¦ Arthur D. Little predicts that in the coming years mobile
advertising is poised to be the next major digital media platform for
brands to reach customers, and the key telecoms players have a great
deal to gain from bringing their services to market early. Forecast
figures predict roughly 60 per cent annual growth in mobile advertising
spend over the next four years. The report, "A Mobile Playground," published today by Arthur D. Little´s TIME
(Telecommunications, Information Technology, Media and Electronics)
practice, includes predictions about the size and content of the
European mobile advertising industry, as well as offering both telecoms
operators and advertisers insight into what is driving interest in
mobile advertising and how they can best navigate the often unchartered
waters of advertising to consumers via a hand–held device. Key findings
include: Online and in hand: mobile broadband and advertising. Unlike
previous reports that have categorised mobile advertising as a new and
different way of communicating advertisers´ messages, Arthur D. Little´s study finds that
mobile advertising is the next step in the evolution of the online
advertising industry. With the rise of mobile broadband unavoidable - Arthur D. Little recently predicted 50 per cent European penetration
over the next five years - the report argues
that mobile advertising will grow alongside mobile broadband and build
on the interactivity of IP technology and mobile devices´ unique functionality to develop new forms of online advertising
particularly suited for the hand–held web surfer. Telecoms operators must act early. Historically mobile operators
have enjoyed a prime position in the telecoms value chain, as the
controller of both the user interface and customer relationship.
However, only 5 per cent of mobile operators´ revenue is generated through advertising, compared to 16 per cent in the
wider media world. If operators do not identify and secure their role in
the provision and delivery of mobile advertising, they risk losing a
major revenue stream to traditional internet advertisers like Google or
Yahoo. Either forming partnerships or through specialist acquisition
telecoms providers risk falling behind their competition in the internet
advertising space if they do not begin developing the technology and
infrastructure to eventually deliver large–scale, multi–format mobile
advertising to their customers. This report offers four specific
recommendations for how mobile providers can begin taking action to
stake their claim in the mobile advertising market. "Advertisers prefer to deal with a single
broker when launching a mobile phone ad campaign rather than striking
deals with individual carriers across the markets. Making mobile
advertising a true success requires cooperation among operators –
something mobile operators typically haven´t been very good at," says Klaus von den Hoff Global Head of Arthur D. Little´s
TIME Practice. What it will look like. Online and mobile advertising is still
dominated by search and display formats such as a banner, pop–up, or
sponsored link. However, mobile advertising offers the possibility for
more interactive and dynamic formats, such as service call waiting
idle–screen advertisements, mobile TV ads, games and voicemail ads. Push
ads via SMS/MMS are another traditional option, but one whose potential
has yet to be fully recognised due to operators´ hesitation to cannibalise their core services in order to chase the
ever–elusive advertising dollar. The full report includes Arthur D.
Little´s predictions of which mobile
advertising formats are most likely to gain traction, and each format´s
percentage of mobile advertising share. Blyk: a case study. The report documents the results from
early adopters of Blyk, a UK–based virtual network operator, which has
successfully launched large–scale mobile advertising in the UK with a 29
per cent response rate. The report identifies how Blyk used highly
defined target groups and user data to achieve such positive rates of
customer interest - 29 per cent compared with
.05 per cent response rate for a typical online marketing campaign. "Mobile players that want to take a serious bite of the advertising
market first need to establish how they will deliver mobile advertising
and prove they have the scale of reach to compete with the big online
players", says Juergen Morath, co–author of the report and a
director in Arthur D. Little´s TIME Practice. To access the full report, please visit www.adlittle.com/mobileadvertising. About Arthur D. Little Arthur D. Little (ADL), founded in 1886, is a leading global management
consulting firm that links strategy, innovation and technology to master
complex business challenges while delivering sustainable results to our
clients. Arthur D. Little has a collaborative client engagement style
exceptional people and a firm–wide commitment to quality and integrity.
ADL is proud to serve many of the Fortune 100 companies globally in
addition to many other leading firms and public sector organisations. Arthur D. Little has over 30 offices worldwide, employing over 1,000
people. If you would like additional information on the firm, please
visit www.adl.com. TIME (Telecommunications, Information
Technology, Media, Electronics) The global TIME Practice of Arthur D. Little advises companies in the
telecommunications, information technology, media and electronics
sectors. ADL consultants assist their clients around the world in
solving strategic, operational and technological problems. The range of
advice extends from concept development (strategy, organisation
processes, IT) to implementation. In addition, the TIME practice works
with investors on major financing projects and corporate purchases and
sales.
