In a new monthly column, ThirdScreen Media's Heidi Lehmann profiles an exciting new channel: wireless web advertising.
The recent confluence of several key technology events in the mobile phone industry have set the stage for the wireless web to offer advertisers the type of content, reach and presence that make it worth spending money in this new media channel.
These milestones include:
- Significant increase in consumer awareness
- Faster connectivity speeds and 3G Networks -- so content can be accessed
- The introduction of WAP 2.0 -- this enables more robust graphics and a better user experience.
- Better handset functionality -- this enables more data services
Data services include technologies such as the wireless web, video, text messaging, game downloads, instant messaging and email that are transforming the mobile phone into an always-with-you, always-on communication-information-entertainment device.
The wireless industry is established and growing
According to Forrester Research, 169 million U.S. consumers own or have access to a mobile phone. This number will increase to 200 million by 2007. Of those 200 million, it is projected 84 million will be data subscribers, up from 26 million in 2002.
While it is too early for there to be a killer app in mobile data services, Yankee Group reports that browsing mobile site content (wireless web content such as entertainment, sports, news and more) is up from 11 percent of all data subscribers who actively use data services to 35 percent in 2004 -- a notable number that is sure to have implications for mainstream brands and content providers searching for new actionable ways to connect with their customers.
Advertisers are watching
This combination of key trends has advertisers keeping close tabs on the wireless web. There is a marketplace evolving in the wireless world and it is very similar to other media. Consumers now have the ability to use their mobile phones to view weather, sports, news, entertainment and other types of content. Smart marketers will take advantage of mobile media buying opportunities. In other words, buying interactive ads within ad supported mobile content.
Madison Avenue firms and their clients will wind up providing the funding for high quality consumer-oriented mobile content. Publishers continue to develop mobile site content and campaign management technologies for mobile media (similar to those developed for the internet), and continue to grow campaign capabilities like click-to-call, dealer locator, coupons and opt-in for alerts. All of these contribute to the growing desire to advertise using the wireless web.
To date, mobile advertising consisted of primarily Short Message Service (SMS) campaigns. Text messaging and SMS campaigns have driven the market and have made the biggest impact, similar to what ring tones and wallpaper did for mobile content. As the U.S. embraces mobile trends like the European and Asian markets, it is logical that the U.S. will follow the trend of increasing SMS usage.
It is likely that SMS will begin to be deployed in a more integrated mobile media buy, similar to the recent Dunkin’ Donuts campaign, a joint initiative between my company, ThirdScreen Media, and SMS company, Enpocket. The two companies collaborated to produce a mobile coupon for a Dunkin’ Donuts latte. ThirdScreen managed the mobile site buy and Enpocket produced and powered a SMS follow-on. The campaign produced a 4 percent click-through rate. The 21 percent redemption rate was optimized through relevant site selection, geo-targeting and frequency control.
This type of promotion-driven campaign is a sneak preview of one type of mobile initiative that is validating the wireless web as a proven media conduit.
The publisher perspective
Much of what makes a campaign work is having a timely presence where your target audience is, and that depends on destination publishers -- for example, on one hand, established online brands with a loyal following that are likely to become destination sites for mobile, and, on the other hand, compelling new mobile publishers, who are creating exclusive mobile sites and content.
In 2000, many known U.S. publishers developed content for WAP 1.0 in order to establish some type of mobile presence. These efforts were too ahead of the times and most of these sites received low traffic due to their text-driven, minimalist nature. Thus, they did not warrant marketer support.
Now, with the surge in data services and wireless web browsing, some of the biggest brand content names, like CNN, in categories such as entertainment, business, news and sports are developing robust WAP 2.0 content complete with color screens, polished graphics and plans to monetize this content through advertising, subscription or both.
In some cases, publishers are placing free ad-supported mobile site content as a lead-in to other paid or subscription-based content, for example, downloadable games, wallpaper or ringtones.
Where mobile WAP content has worked
While the majority of publishers are just dabbling with the wireless web, there are a few innovators who have had a mobile site presence for years and can boast a working and effective ad-supported model.
CNN has been publishing mobile site content since1998, first on WAP 1.0 and now migrating to WAP 2.0 in 2005. CNN mobile caters to the information “road warrior,” a person who is on the go but needs to stay informed about news they consider critical.
"These are actively engaged users,” explains Scott Bender, Sales Manager, CNN Networks. “If you're taking the time to get the headlines off of your cell phone, it's probably safe to assume you're not close to a TV or computer, at that particular moment."
CNN enjoys healthy mobile traffic and advertising to date has been primarily geared towards branding objectives within contextually relevant areas of the mobile content that does not disrupt the user experience.
go2 Directory Systems has also produced mobile site content since the late 1990s and, like CNN mobile, also enjoys an ad-supported model. go2 Directory Systems owns and operates several go2 mobile websites focused on local yellow page directory content and movie guide information in the United States. go2 is a mobile brand that can be accessed on almost any web-enabled cell phone and can use ALI (automatic location identification) to produce results on a granular local level.
Last year go2 served over 160 million pages of local information during 16 million unique cellphone user sessions and worked with advertisers such as AMF Bowling, Bose, Holiday Inn, Il Fornaio, Jamba Juice and ProFlowers.com.
“Our experience in delivering millions of ad impressions to millions of cellphone users has demonstrated that the mobile advertising market is both effective for advertisers and appreciated by users because of the personal nature of the medium and go2’s local and category targeting capabilities,” asserts Lee Hancock, CEO and founder of go2.
Faster speeds, more capable mobile phones and other technological advances, in addition to innovations in mobile content formats and strategies will advance the mobile advertising industry further.
"As both the platform and handsets develop, we look forward to expanding advertising opportunities beyond our current offerings," says CNN’s Bender.
Nothing is easy …
So as not to over simplify or be overly optimistic, mobile site development and advertising will certainly have its challenges and growing pains like any new medium. Particular challenges will relate to standardization, measurement and other best practice issues.
However, given the synergies that are currently in play and advertiser desires to reach a targeted scale through the most personal conduit possible, the wireless web looks to have its best chance ever.
Heidi Lehmann is VP of Strategic Alliances at ThirdScreen Media. She has more than 12 years of sales and business development experience in interactive marketing. Prior to Third Screen Media, Lehmann was a partner and Managing Director of Emerging Interest, a marketing technology consultancy, where she was responsible for all operations and strategy for Emerging Interest's "Advertising Road Show," an event that brings best in class interactive marketing technology companies together with decision makers at top companies and ad agencies. She produced more than 250 Road Shows at companies and agencies such as Disney, Fidelity, Unilever, AIG, Meredith Publishing, Ogilvy, Y&R, JWT, OMD, Deutsch, Hill Holliday and Carat Interactive. Prior to that she held senior business development and sales positions with Artificial Life, a Boston based natural language processing and artificial intelligence "Bot" company; Kaon Interactive, a Cambridge, MA based company focused on 3D Interactive Internet technology; and Autosite.com an automotive e-commerce company. Lehmann also developed the "The Poison Cocktail Club,” a 3D audio-based chat game where she worked in conjunction with CECI (Center for Educational Computing Initiatives) at MIT to deploy the PCC as part of Continental Cablevision's (now AT&T) cable modem trial. Lehmann holds a BA from Hood College and a certificate in Film Production Management from UCLA.