Mobile Ad Revenue Outlook – Marketing Tool

Mobile phones or SmartPhones are very common these days and the prospect of using mobiles as a marketing media is very high. Mobiles have become an essential part of everyone’s life. It is the easy and convenient way people can communicate with each other wherever they are. SMSs and mobile calls have become very cheap and hence more and more people are buying new cellphone and sim cards. A section of those who are cost conscious or privacy conscious have more than one handset or may be dual SIM options. With the advent of smart-phones, users from all ages are literally replacing computers with smart-phones when it comes to daily routine. Smart-phones have revolutionized the way mobile phones were used to communicate earlier and to process digital data. If one can process spread-sheets, images and videos in a phone along with the usual communication, who will carry around a heavy laptop?

SMS and MMS have untapped possibilities in marketing products and services. From searching maps to finding nearest stores and restaurants, the avid Mobile generation is using smart-phones to navigate and to search for information on the way. To cater this section and genre, most of the top brand websites have a mobile version which allows people to access information, web applications (popularly called as apps) and even software applications from their mobiles. Local businesses benefit the most from mobile advertising.

As a trend, mobiles phones are being used increasingly for gaming, social networking and navigation these days. Mostly all mobile companies have their own native app store from which users download and install applications that suit their requirements. Ease of use and specific functionality of mobile apps are making them popular. Main competing operating systems are Android OS (Google) and iOS from Apple. Since research and development is always ongoing in the m-technology world, we may soon find mobile web also simplified, secure and more easy to use.

Mobile phones are gaining more popularity in offices as well as house-holds than televisions and internet. Due to is low cost (most of the android web apps are priced below $5) and does not take up much space, the consumer is ready to buy and use web apps readily. Competition is bringing down the cost of mobiles and also the cellphone apps with smart features. Even kids are able to use smart-phones at least to play their favorite games. The reach of marketing through mobile is far bigger than that through TV commercials and web marketing.

Mobile ads promoted through SMS and MMS reach out to maximum number of people. Including mobile device targeting through various search marketing platforms, other forms of ads are Mobile Web Banner and Mobile Web Images. MMS ads and branding are very common in games, videos and on mobile web pages. Display of interstitials just before a voice call,mail or page loads have opportunities to advertise via advance mobile marketing. Since mobile gaming is so popular and growing, user are ready to notice and accept the ads placed and thus it serves the purpose of letting people know about a brand, product or service. Mobile ads are generally charged either per view (cost per impression) or per click (cost per click). When it comes to applications, cost-per-install method is used where either the user or the client is charged per installation of the mobile app.

With more advanced platforms supporting mobile applications, mobile ads are also finding new ways to advertising through mobiles. Since all smart-phones do not support all types of media, mobile ads come in various forms as supported by mobiles. Over time we can expect uniformity and to overcome this hurdle and reduce the cost and time involved in generating innovative media applications for each mobile.

Mobile ads hold a bright future in the new generation’s marketing mix with advanced targeting. As long as people use mobiles, marketing industry can flourish in the field of mobile ads. Local businesses benefit the most from mobile ads since location specific ads can be triggered scheduled and promoted depending on the mobile user’s location.