CBS Mobile head: Industry is overwhelming users

The mobile industry is overwhelming consumers with too many services and associated costs, in the process alienating advertisers as well, according to CBS Mobile chief Cyriac Roeding. Speaking this week at the AlwaysOn OnMedia NYC conference, Roeding said the viability of the mobile advertising platform hinges on carriers, OEMs and content providers simplifying mobile media buying, and positioning mobile as a clear alternative to television and the web. "How do we expect anyone to take this seriously as an advertising device if we keep telling them about the unbelievable complexity that arises out of the fact that we have 20 carriers in the U.S., then we have fundamental technologies, GSM and CDMA," Roeding said. "So let's make it simpler. Let's talk about usability, let's not talk about the next 15 menu items, and let's not try to copy another medium … If you are trying to make this the next online page, you will fail, because this is a new medium in its own right."

According to Roeding, it's imperative advertisers fully grasp the opportunity mobile presents. "If you can't answer that question in 10 seconds, you're out of the game," he said, adding the answer is that mobile is the only medium that people carry with them 18 hours a day.  Roeding said that during the last quarter, CBS Mobile's sports initiatives alone drew 75 million mobile page views and five million unique visitors, noting that mobile content providers must provide clear measurement benchmarks to encourage marketers to invest their budgets in mobile.

For more on Roeding's rant:
- read this OnlineMediaDaily article [1]

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