AdaptiveMobile, which provides mobile subscriber protection for enterprises and individuals, is urging mobile operators to be prudent when planning how advertisers use their network this year, as the threat of unparalleled customer churn looms.
AdaptiveMobile CEO Lorcan Burke notes that 2008 looks like being a record-breaking year from a revenue perspective for mobile operators globally, with messaging volumes reaching an all-time high, believed to be over 50 billion in 2007 in the UK alone. He adds that investment is also bullish in emerging markets, citing the recent news that a group of carriers including MTN, Orange and Vodacom are committing more than 25billion into the Sub-Saharan region. In addition, says Burke, the continued development of next-generation networks, and the ongoing evolution of multimedia handsets such as the iPhone, will increase subscribers purchase of high-value data services, while the mobile music market also appears to be hotting up too, with the likes of Vodafone and Nokia having announced ambitious investments in 2007.
However, he cautions, boom could well become bust this year for operators that carelessly expose their customers to mobile advertising, as businesses become more aware of the mediums potential.
Burke points out that while a 2007 Pontis survey revealed that the mobile network is a powerful channel for advertising, with 11% of mobile user respondents stating they would buy products as a result of receiving an offer from their operator, the same survey also found that 70% found mobile marketing campaigns totally irrelevant to them, while two thirds are fed up with mobile phone spam.
This is where the danger lies, says Burke. Disgruntled customers switching to a mobile provider with a more suitable mobile advertising strategy. Several analysts have commented on the fact that mobile operators are still not able to sufficiently segment and understand their customer base. Sending the right content to the right people is key for the success of any marketing campaign, and if mobile operators want to sign-up the big brands that offer big money for mobile advertising, they need to understand and manage customer preferences and permissions. Otherwise both their bottom line and brand will suffer significantly this year.”
AdaptiveMobile offers comprehensive proactive protection from the increasingly prominent threat of mobile viruses, malware, inappropriate content, unsolicited communications and spam at a corporate and consumer level. AdaptiveMobiles software works across all mobile and wireless bearers, for all technologies including messaging, internet and video. The company was founded in 2003 and boasts some of the worlds largest mobile operators as customers, and the leading security and telecom equipment vendors as partners.