RAY ANDERSON takes a look at the advertising opportunities offered on the mobile phone and outlines the key success factors that would propel mobile advertising forward.

Ray Anderson is CEO, Bango. Ray Anderson co-founded Bango in 1999 after realising that the convergence of the Internet with the ubiquity of mobile phones could open up huge opportunities for content and service providers.Anderson positioned the company to benefit from the opening up of the operator portals in 2004, and the transition of the mobile content business from a messaging model to a customer friendly, browse and buy Internet model. In 2005, Anderson led the successful floatation of the company and continues to build and steer the Bango team forward..

With the explosive growth in the number of mobile phones world-wide and in India in particular, it was simply a matter of time before a mobile phone near you started to deliver advertising. By the end of 2008, twice as many people will have access to the Internet world-wide through a mobile phone than a PC. So having a mobile Web presence makes perfect sense for brands who want to reach out to their consumers and mobile advertising is one of the most powerful ways of driving demand for services.

Estimates for the value of the mobile advertising market vary from $2 billion - $11.5 billion by 2011. What is certain is that this industry is growing fast. Analyst firm Visiongain forecasts that mobile advertising will become mainstream by 2008. Advertising is potentially much more powerful on mobile that in any other media. This is because the mobile phone is a personal device enabling businesses to deliver much more highly targeted campaigns than is possible in print, on the TV or indeed on the Web.An advertisement can be targeted to users in certain countries and on specific networks, or to particular handset makes and types, for example. It is possible to identify and track the traffic generated from advertising campaigns so advertisers can better understand what works. The community of businesses and brands who sell digital content on mobile phones realize the value of mobile advertising.

Through a network of advertising partners - Adhoc Mobile, AdMob, JumpTap, MADS, ScreenTonic and Third Screen Media - they can choose a partner that can address their specific needs.

Personal marketing
Unlike the PC which is often shared between members of a family, the phone is entirely personal. It is almost always on and carried wherever the person goes. So mobile marketing and that includes mobile advertising is all about building a strong one-to-one relationship with individual consumers. More and more brands that have a desktop Web presence are now looking to the mobile Web.

Through these mobile Websites, businesses provide consumers with free and premium content, information, service updates, competitions and other forms of online services. This richer Web-like experience is better than messaging-based marketing because it enables businesses to have a direct, interactive relationship with their consumers.

Another unique benefit of marketing on the mobile Web is the amount of detailed information available about each phone user. Through these mobile Websites, businesses provide consumers with free and premium content, information, service updates, competitions and other forms of online services. This richer Web-like experience is better than messaging-based marketing because it enables businesses to have a direct, interactive relationship with their consumers. Another unique benefit of marketing on the mobile Web is the amount of detailed information available about each phone user. It is already possible to know information about the visitor's country and what network they use along with their handset make and type, language and currency. In addition, it is possible to profile that user's buying habits to build a valuable picture that further enhances the success of a mobile marketing campaign. In fact, Andrew Robertson, CEO of BBDO global advertising network believes that mobile phones will replace TV as the most important advertising medium for the industry.

How mobile ads are different
Here's a quick overview of how mobile Web ads differ from traditional online ads:

Size matters
It goes without saying that mobile ads are physically smaller than Web ads. But in addition to small banner ads and text ads, you might see voice ads stream while you're browsing a WAP site or ads being delivered while interstitial pages are waiting to be downloaded.

Hitting the target
The mobile Web ad can be better targeted and content providers can identify and track traffic generated from advertising campaigns to determine return on investment.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS TO PROPEL MOBILE ADVERTISING

There are already a huge number of mobile advertising campaigns running every day. 10 top success factors to make sure yours is successful:

• Choose your partner
  Work with a mobile advertising company that has embedded real mobile experience into its ad serving solution. Knowledge of the technical and commercial challenges of mobile telephony can have a large impact on the delivery and results of an ad campaign.
• Choose the right ad format
  Color animated banner ads, static banner ads, or text links are the main options. For example, you can show color banner ads in countries with a faster GPRS connection and text links in countries with a slower connection. Color banner ads are not only more visually appealing, but also allow you to include your branding/logo into the ad.
• Include a call to action
  Any effective advertising, mobile ads should have a simple call to action such as "click here" to be taken through to the advertiser's mobile Website or to download a game.
• Select the right payment method
  Choose a mobile advertising company that allows you to run Pay Per Click and/or Pay Per Impression ad campaigns depending on your requirements.
• Pay attention to the content and design
  Mobile ads are limited in size so you need to be clear about what the end user will receive if they click on your ad. There is no point running an ad saying 'Click here for free ringtones' if, when the user clicks through, they have to subscribe to a service with a daily or monthly fee to receive just one free ringtone. Be clear and transparent.
• Use targeting wisely
  The more targeting you have, you will only receive clicks from people that really want your content or service. For example, if you are selling a Java game in India then don't forget to set the targeting to India and Java phones only.
• Think global
  If you are selling generic mobile content then you have the opportunity to sell to a global audience through services such as Bango. There are large amounts of ad inventory available world-wide, including the UK, mainland Europe, Eastern Europe, US, South Africa, South America, India and SE Asia.
• Look for specialist support
  If you are promoting an adult or gaming service, for example, choose a mobile internet advertising solution which specialises in that market such as Adultmoda.
• Ensure a smooth buying process
  Easy to navigate sites and an intuitive billing solution will result in more sales. With Bango, consumers know exactly what they are paying for and have the option to pay on their phone bill if possible or by credit/debit card and PayPal.
• Monetise your content
  If you have a mobile website or Java Application with good traffic, then why not monetise it. There are many ways you can incorporate ads into your mobile Website and generate a whole new revenue stream. Mobile advertising is already with us but the introduction of more flat-rate data charging during 2007 is expected to attract millions more people to the mobile Web. This will allow them to explore the growing choice of information, services and entertainment available from their mobile phones without worrying about clocking up data charges.

Fine tuned campaigns
Valuable information about consumers enables marketers to fine tune campaigns. Ads can also be targeted to specific handset makes and capabilities. So, if you sell games for a particular device type - only people with compatible handsets will see your ads.

Eliminating costly and confusing wastage
A clear identification for each customer that clicks through to a mobile site or service allows you to determine who is new and who is a repeat customer. This way, you can understand the total value that each customer brings as a result of the advertising campaign.

Avoiding click fraud Click
fraud is a problem that has been plaguing traditional Web advertising for many years. In the mobile space, advertisers can clearly identify a unique user, verified against a phone number or operator tag. So by monitoring the history of clicks it is possible to identify and track unexpected trends.

At the moment, most brands are still experimenting but a study by Harris Interactive of 1,200 mobile users world-wide found 78% of people were happy to receive ads tailored to their interests and 64% were willing to provide personal details to improve their relevance. Furthermore, 58% would prefer banner ads on mobile Web pages rather than receiving marketing texts.

The problem with SMS marketing is that it's a more invasive form of marketing with the potential to put off users; whereas on the mobile Web where users actively seek services, ads are better received. Banner ads have already been rolled out across operator portals in Europe and the US. Major publishing brands such as USA Today and Business Week in the US have allowed banner and text ads on their own mobile portals to boost revenues. In the UK, the mobile site of theThe Sun newspaper has a Jamba ad promoting realtones. Interestingly, it's placed on the same page that The Sun is selling voice tones!

There is a rapid increase in the number of mobile surfers coming from different countries right across the globe from Mexico through China and Croatia to Australia. In fact, it is India that has the fastest growing rate of users with 9% of all accesses to mobile Websites through the Bango system coming from India, up from 3% a year ago.

This is not surprising as India is the world's fastest-growing mobile market with customer numbers set to exceed European levels within the next few years. Even as challenges, hurdles and bottlenecks faced by mobile advertising or the basic platform required for mobile advertising -in terms of handset support, dependence on mobile Internet technologies, network bandwidth required, business models/revenue sharing mechanisms - are being addressed, the market for mobile ads is going to be there. So expect to see more mobile ads coming to a phone near you.