Incentives Key to Mobile Marketing

• Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Advertising, Marketing, Mobile Advertising

Most people (90%) say that they are not at all interested in getting ads on their mobile phones, according to Harris Interactive.

In theory, that leaves less than 10% of users as an audience for mobile marketing. While, in practice, the audience is much larger. As with any medium, once mobile ads are associated with something of value, user interest shoots up. If incentives are involved, it shoots up considerably.

Think about the Internet a decade ago. There was still some debate as to whether companies should be on the Web at all — would corporate influence stifle the free flow of ideas on the fresh new medium? Once companies did move online, consumers were initially reluctant to give out personal information. It took incentives and opt-in agreements to overcome their hesitance.

Right now, mobile is the only interactive medium where the typical user pays for both the cost of network access and the content it delivers. Mobile operators and content providers are finding that besides early adopters and enthusiasts, it is tough to find buyers for paid mobile music downloads, let alone video and games.

Introducing mobile advertising into the revenue mix changes the picture. Many users say that they would be willing to receive mobile marketing in exchange for incentives, so offering free applications, subsidized airtime or other goodies makes sense.

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