Next Generation Advertising

Mike Manzo, Chief Marketing Manager of transactional intelligence company Openet, considers the potential of, and the requirements for, mobile advertising 

Michael_manzo
The television advertising market is set for a big change. TV viewers
are demanding more interactive and on-demand choices, whereas
advertisers want more accurate TV ad management. Enter, next-generation
advertising, the era of targeted mobile ads.
Next-generation advertising enables carriers to segment subscribers and
target them with relevant marketing. 100% of revenue is generated from
the usage of services by consumers, and as a result, average revenue
per user (ARPU) is declining and revenue growth is flattening.
Advertising via mobile devices represents future growth potential and
will monetise user browsing. For advertisers and marketing
organisations, mobile devices present an ideal medium to reach
consumers by providing the ultimate addressability in a single,
personal device through which they can promote almost every type of
media.

Bold predictions
Analyst and industry leaders are bold about their predictions for the future of mobile advertising. Sterling Market Intelligence forecasts mobile advertising revenues will reach $5.08 billion (2.9 billion) in North America and Western Europe by 2012. Gartner,  meanwhile, predicts that the worldwide mobile advertising market will grow from $895 million in 2007 to $414.6 billion 2011. Forrester is less bullish, predicting less than $1 billion in mobile ad revenues by 2012. Whichever industry professional we believe, the fact remains that next -generation advertising is the next big thing with the likes of both Vodafone and O2 already trialling advertising to handsets.
Advertisers and marketers once viewed the mobile industry as forbidden ground,  because, while this largely-untapped market is ideal for targeted marketing and advertising, it is undoubtedly risky to target consumers who believe they already pay a considerable amount for a personal service. The key to marketing through mobile is to understand the customer. Operators need to be aware of subscriber needs and preferences in order to have a targeted approach. For mobile ads to be successful, it becomes even more necessary to understand client individuality and personal habits, as their thought process is the solution to delivering ads to the right users.

Transactional intelligence
At the core of effectively understanding the subscriber is the ability to draw real business intelligence from the transactions subscribers make on their device. While demographic information enables a degree of profiling, mobile operators need real-time transactional intelligence to be able to target mobile advertising services down to the level where they are personalised and relevant to the individual subscriber. 
Advertisements are part of our culture and, with the rise of mobile advertising, the doors are opening to a new world of possibilities. This time around, however, recycling the same old techniques will not work. The modern consumer now requires a more targeted approach to promoting content and charging. This is already becoming clear in more traditional media such as broadcasting, where crowded scheduling and the proliferation of channels is challenging established advertising models. Extend advertising to the mobile device and the need to rethink advertising from a creative delivery and measurement perspective becomes even more critical.

Kicked into overdrive
Advanced advertising methods have been kicked into overdrive to meet todays consumer demands. TV media measurement will become multimedia measurement. Advertising strategies will shift from being purely geographic-based to encompass contextual and behavioural data derived from information through research and segmentation. Audience measurement will revolve around engagement, rather than impressions. There will be a wave of cross-media information access, and interactive ads will allow clickthrough for information.
Operators have become aware that they have the untapped ability to profile and segment users based on demographics and behaviour in a way that is analogous to online giants such as Google and Yahoo! Both companies have built their success on monetising their networks by identifying not only who their customers are, but also, critiquing their online habits. But while the Internet advertising model proves that the real value of advertising is in measurement and addressability, mobile advertising demands an even greater level of subscriber-awareness from the network operator. With the right transactional solutions,  operators can provide cheaper network fees and create revenue through their services, thus making the targeted approach imperative for carriers success.