Alcatel-Lucent Launches Operator Ad Solution

Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled its Optism Mobile Advertising Solution, a while-label offering that enables mobile operators to offer preference-based mobile advertising services to their subscribers on an opt-in basis.

Optimism includes a media arm, which brokers relationships between mobile operators and advertisers, simplifying the media selling process for aggregated operator inventory. Since the service is aggregated across multiple operators, media buyers can make a cross-network mobile media buy via the Optism web-based interface.
The solution is based around a scalable, hosted advertising platform that reduces barriers to entry for mobile operators and easily and directly connects them with advertisers. Alcatel-Lucent takes a share of the revenue from advertising spend.

The platform uses permission and stated preferences to deliver advertising to subscribers mobile phones. Interactions are tailored to their specific interests and lifestyles, such as discount offers on products and services related to subjects they have expressed an interest in.

The first two operators to sign up for the service are E+ in Germany and Orange Austria, whose Senior Business Developer (Advertising Solutions), Juergen Pillinger, says: “By working with Alcatel-Lucent, we can provide value to our subscribers by ensuring that ads are interest-based, while growing our revenue without adding complexity to our operations. The Mobile Advertising Solution allows us to deliver targeted ads that subscribers actually want to receive, while providing a highly responsive channel for brands and media agencies.”

Eden Zoller, Principal Analyst, Ovum Consumer Practice, notes that fragmentation and lack of scale have acted as a brake on mobile advertising, deterring the advertising community and slowing overall growth, describes Alcatel-Lucents move as a positive step in the right direction.

And David Kyffin, Global Chief ROI and Direct Marketing Officer at media agency Mediacom has also welcomed Optim, saying: “The most desirable inventory involves user permissions supplemented by explicit preferences and must offer broad scale to truly harness mobile as a marketing channel. Clients are increasingly asking if they can run campaigns over multiple regions and at scale. Alcatel-Lucents operating model and access to multiple mobile operators is a big step towards meeting these requirements.”