In the past, operator attempts to monetise their proprietary mobile portals were not viewed favourably by subscribers, to put it mildly. In pushing services at end-users, without permission, operators were seen as intrusive, and offering little in the way of a customised user experience.

The arrival of contextual mobile browsing technology helps to right this wrong, however, as it offers a rich, personalized, and social, browsing experience, that treats users with respect for their unique mobile personalities.

Contextual browsing is accessible to an end-user as they browse the web on their mobile’s native browser. It offers a scrollable user interface, with a number of toolbar extensions. This type of extension platform can be rolled out easily and quickly (pre-loaded or via over-the-air downloads) across all Android smartphones, instantly delivering huge scale, and directly into the hands of subscribers.
The portal-like toolbar extensions provide a highly flexible environment – in which the toolbars can be customised, or added to, by operators and subscribers alike. It is this flexibility that enables an operator to provide the ‘beach front’ property for their own recommendations, promotions and advertising.

Browser extensions can morph intelligently, on the fly, to consider the end user’s unique interests by virtue of being powered by a contextual engine. This means the extensions deliver hyper-relevant content.

For example, if an end-user is on the ESPN webpage and they click the ‘App’ button in their browser, the contextual engine has the ability to suggest the most popular ESPN apps, related sports apps and other relevant content.

Similarly, when users choose to open up these extensions and enter browser apps, the operator has the opportunity to serve relevant banner ads and rich media interstitial video ads. For example, an operator is capable of promoting access to a sports game streaming service to users surfing sports sites.

Leveraging this technology enables an operator to display banner or rich media ads to their end users, using either a third party advertising server, or one of the operator’s choosing that can be easily integrated.

Promotional offers

Beyond monetizing digital property through somewhat traditional mobile advertising, operators can extend promotional offers and discounts related to an eCommerce site available at the touch of an ‘Offers’ extension button. These offers can be related to the store’s webpage, or the product being browsed.

They also have the ability to sponsor a button on the browser toolbar. For example, an operator could work with a major film studio to deliver a time-limited button on the toolbar for ‘Iron Man 3’. This could include links to preview videos, contests and other related content.

Contextual mobile browsing technology is already generating great benefits for operators and end-users alike. In the past, operators imposed services on their end-users. Contemporary toolbar extension frameworks instead provide end-users with the flexibility to pick their own extensions from the top brands and utilities on the internet; delete services they do not value; and even deactivate the extension toolbar with one click. Consumers are back in control of their browser and what they consume – in an easy-to-use and hyper-relevant environment. 

However, operators have learned from past experience that they must show greater deference to the user experience when seeking to monetise the mobile browsing experience. This technology offers them the chance to put them at the heart of the consumer mobile experience, without being seen as intrusive, and to open new revenue streams.

Affiliate revenue
The business models that can deliver these revenues are as flexible as contextual mobile browsing technology itself. Indeed, they can be structured very differently – based on the requirements of each of the parties involved. These partnerships provide everyone with stakes at the table, and can help to drive much valued affiliate revenue through mobile.

Millions of mobile subscribers browse the internet on their mobile. The opportunity that contextual mobile browsing technology provides, in light of these numbers, is vast. Operators can finally develop incremental monetization opportunities, and make themselves more relevant and additive, on consumers’ smartphones – all while enriching the user experience.

Jay Hinman is head of marketing at Skyfire