Mobile advertising making headway--sort of

I'm in Singapore attending the CommunicAsia 2008 conference this week but when it comes to mobile advertising the message I'm hearing in Asia sounds very similar to what I hear at home.

The mobile ad value chain is crowded with traditional wireless players such as Nokia (through its acquisition of Enpocket), as well as newcomers like Google. Small startups also are vying for a piece of the market. A few are thriving but many are struggling for market share. Meanwhile, operators have an opportunity to use their customer data to benefit the mobile advertising ecosystem but many are hesitant due to fear of alienating their customers.

Although those facts are not surprising,  there are some promising developments worth noting. During a presentation at CommunicAsia by Stephen Dieter, managing consultant, Detecon Consulting, he highlighted the following:

• In the German market, operators have added an additional $1.50 to $3 in ARPU through mobile advertising.
• Ad-funded mobile virtual network operator Blyk (which is targeting 16- to 24-year-olds with its mobile service), now has more than 50 brands participating in its program. 
• Vodafone reported receiving 2.2 million page impressions on its mobile portal with an ad campaign for car maker Renault SA. The goal of this campaign was to generate brand awareness and it is considered a successful endeavor.
• Swiss operator Swisscom is trialing advertising over mobile TV with advertisers such as Adidas, McDonalds and Sony Ericsson. Dieter says that consumers had a recall rate of 29 percent, which is considered a strong showing.

For those of us who follow the mobile ad space, it often seems as if the discussions are focused on the struggles and not the successes. Slowly that is changing. The success stories are becoming more frequent and more quantifiable. It's a welcome change.  -Sue