When will mobile advertising move on-deck?

Nearly every conversation I have with a mobile content executive inevitably turns to advertising and its tremendous potential. But after talking about mobile advertising for the past 18 months, it appears to me most mobile advertising developments are in the off-portal world. When is mobile advertising going to become an on-portal phenomenon?

Sprint has been the most vocal operator to explore advertising. About a year ago, the firm announced mobile advertising firm Enpocket would power an ad-delivery system on the company's mobile web portal, selling advertising space on navigation pages and other locations. I've heard other operators are exploring their on-portal advertising options with Enpocket and other firms such as Third Screen Media and Medio, but it seems to be progressing at a very slow rate.

Carriers, with their customer data, have the unique ability to make mobile advertising targeted if they couple it with their customer demographic information. Of course, it's exactly this demographic information that makes carriers so resistant to advertising. Most are fearful of privacy issues and alienating their customers.

But as the off-deck advertising world prospers, wireless carriers may want to be more progressive in their on-deck mobile advertising plans. While off-deck advertising may not reap the in-depth customer data that advertisers prefer, it probably is a much easier world to navigate than the highly controlled wireless carrier environment.

And perhaps advertisers would also be surprised at how few subscribers actually populate the mobile web or watch mobile TV. For now, wireless carriers can keep those figures close to the vest, but if advertisers are buying space on their decks or in their mobile TV programs, carriers would have to make those statistics readily available.

Carriers need to move their on-deck mobile advertising strategies out of the experimental stage. Mobile advertising is a viable revenue stream that shouldn't be taken lightly. If carriers start to take this channel seriously, advertisers will dedicate portions of their ad budgets to mobile advertising and the revenue stream will grow. -Sue