In the past few weeks we have seen a number of partnerships formed which have put the spotlight on advertising. Yahoo! announced the launch of its global mobile display advertising platform in the same week that Google and Vodafone tied up to make mobile search a reality. The chief executive of Vodafone even declared that mobile operators are in danger of missing out on advertising as a revenue stream if the industry does not get its act together around presentation standards. So should advertisers be preparing for the coming of age of mobile advertising?
The answer to this question is tentative yes. There is little doubt that mobile advertising is going to grow and grow. The penetration of handsets is such that the opportunity cannot be ignored and as technology makes it possible for people to watch TV and search the Internet on their phones, then advertising partnerships will follow suit. It's simply too good and too obvious an opportunity to miss.
However, there is a long way to go before this becomes reality. The advent of Internet advertising required a step change in the way adverts are created, delivered and monitored. Despite its early success, Internet advertising still has a lot of potential left to realise. Expecting the model to move easily to the mobile phone is not realistic at this stage. There are huge technology barriers to be overcome for a start - advertisers won't be happy until the major networks can offer cross industry standards in terms of the size of banner ads, length of video advertisements etc. Add to this problems such as copyright and brand defamation and suddenly there are a few mountains to climb.
Mobile advertising will only really take off when it can be guaranteed to be unintrusive and personalised. The mobile phone is, for many people, a personal possession. That means that there will be objections to advertising being served to them everytime they want to watch a TV programme. Adverts will need to be eye catching, engaging and interactive if they are to succeed.
The personalised element is also crucial. Location-based advertising will come into its own via the mobile phone. Being able to deliver adverts for restaurants, shops and local services based on where someone is using their mobile phone will be a very powerful, compelling and lucrative form of advertising.
Mobile operators, Google, Yahoo! Microsoft and anyone else throwing their hats into the ring will need to deliver on two crucial elements to make mobile advertising work: end user experience and brand protection. Until the technology is there to get these things right, mobile advertising will not attract credible investment. Make no mistake, mobile advertising is here to stay as long as the phone industry can mobilise itself to get the recipe for success right.
