Forecast: Mobile ad revenues to top $12B by 2011

Worldwide mobile advertising revenues will grow to more than $12 billion by 2011 according to a new forecast released by information technology research and advisory firm Gartner, which adds that operators must differentiate their advertising approach in the face of direct competition from device makers and web services giants like Google and Yahoo. Gartner argues carriers must exploit access to multiple delivery channels including SMS, MMS, email, mobile search and location-based services--at the same time, operators must tread carefully to balance their advertising ambitions with user privacy and spam control concerns.

Gartner says operators must also convince advertisers and marketers their value proposition is an effective alternative to traditional media channels like television and newspapers as well as the web, drawing on inherent strengths like their subscriber relationships, understanding of local markets, customer databases, network control and multiple channel access. "Carriers can expect to become an integral part of consumers' lifestyles when they can reliably deliver relevant advertisements to them," said Gartner research director King-Yew Foong in a prepared statement. "This will require closer cooperation and partnerships with other businesses, such as retailers, restaurants and cinemas."

For more on the Gartner mobile advertising forecast:
- read this release [1]

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Google: Mobile ads [3] will be more lucrative than online