Advertisements on phones might annoy us at times, but no one can deny that mobile advertising is a market that will only continue to grow. Companies like InMobi and AdMob have pioneered mobile advertising and 3G is only going to help this market flourish, especially in India.
The biggest problem facing mobile advertising was that the ads were not enticing enough as in the 2G format, the quality of the advertising and the environment in which it functions is very restricted. As most mobile advertisements these days are through SMS or WAP, the brands cannot really have elaborate ads due to various restrictions. Now, thanks to 3G, brands can really go all out in connecting to the customer, especially once video downloads and rich media formats are enabled with the launch of 3G.
Vdopia, a video ad network and ad platform, believes that with the launch of 3G, mobile advertising will grow from the present 50 per cent annual growth rate to 150 per cent. Ms Debadutta Upadhyaya, Vice-President (India), Vdopia, says,” The mobile phone is a 24 X 7 device similar to none other as it’s always with the user and has become the most important for any kind of information-seeking activity. With the rapid and extensive growth of mobile telephony in India, it becomes a very important form of reaching brand messages to the consumer.”
One important factor that will play a key role in this advertising strategy would be the availability of smartphones. However with companies like Dell entering the smartphone race, it shouldn’t take long before the average man can afford a smartphone; which in turn would increase the market for mobile advertising.
With 3G even set to penetrate rural India by 2012, soon enough, most mobile users will be connecting to brands via their mobile phones. Do you think mobile advertising will hit its peak soon?
Really badly written article. Does not give any perspective. You guys have done much better stuff earlier