NEW YORK, NY (January 15, 2007)–Marketing through mobile phones is poised to become the next killer app for advertisers. By 2011, eMarketer predicts, brands will be spending nearly $5 billion on advertising, up from $421 million in 2006. Major carriers Sprint, AT&T and Verizon have all announced that they will accept ads on their networks.
Nice potential. But to reap those big bucks, carriers and marketers must overcome some tough obstacles, not the least of which is consumers' reluctance to accept ads on their cell phones. To make consumers more willing, carriers must stop charging them a premium for every bit of content they download, and offer ads in exchange for content instead. Mobile is now a lifestyle technology (as commonplace as a house key in every consumer's pocket), "which is good news for marketers, but nothing they should take for granted," says John du Pre Gauntt, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, "Mobile Marketing and Advertising."
Meanwhile, marketers can get their feet wet by including mobile as one aspect of a multimedia campaign. What they will gain, in addition to valuable future insight, is instant measurability and a click-through rate that can reach 3%. Most important, mobile offers "jaw-dropping engagement for [ad] programs done right, and the challenge will be to evolve a consumer culture that accepts and responds to advertising," Mr. Gauntt says.
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