Communications and Technology Industry Research

Although the mobile advertising industry is still developing, recent studies suggest the extraordinary ability of targeted multimedia advertisements to successfully reach consumers, enhance brand awareness, and increase brand loyalty.

 

Studies have shown that mobile advertising campaigns can increase intent-to-buy in consumers by 25 percent. For brand recognition, studies also reveal that mobile video ads outdo television ads by offering engaging, targeted and relevant content to each user.

 

The 3G iPhone (News - Alert) upgrade and its competing devices will continue to expand the mobile advertising market with its greater browsing, video and application capabilities. The industry is likely to see touchscreen mobile devices go from 341MM this year to more than double that in 2012, according to iSuppli Corporation.

 

Thanks in part to the large screen and high-quality video aspects of the iPhone, mobile video content is the fastest growing area of mobile advertising.

 

While iPhones make up less than 1 percent of mobile devices today, they garner up to 75 percent of video impressions in recent advertising campaigns. As other mobile devices enter the market and offer similar user-experience capabilities, consumer Web browsing habits - and their expectations - are following suit. Studies show mobile video viewership is skyrocketing and has grown 40 percent in one quarter, from 10 million views in December 2007, to 14 million in March 2008.

 

With the modernization of the iPhone, customers will be increasingly engaged with faster speeds, multimedia ad formats, and greater customizability of applications through the recent SDK. Advertisers and major brands are employing the formats, particularly video content, in astonishing numbers.

 

“The iPhone has truly opened doors for the ad industry to create premium rich multimedia campaigns for mobile,” said Brian Cowley, CEO and president of Ad Infuse, a premium mobile advertising company which earlier this year launched an advertising solution specifically designed for the iPhone.

 

After polling more than 2,000 advertisers on where their ad dollars would be focused, the Wave Eight Advertiser Perceptions Survey revealed that mobile video would see the most growth.

 

However, certain criteria must be met to be effective, because mobile users expect seamless integration and a rich experience with their iPhones (and similar devices entering the market). Mobile advertising platforms must utilize all that devices have to offer – particularly following the 3G iPhone upgrade and growing popularity of this popular mobile device.

 

“The iPhone is really a catalyst for mobile content and advertising, spurring the industry to create more premium, personalized mobile advertisements that utilize iPhone’s unique user capabilities,” said Cowley.

 

“Coupled with the extraordinary high percentage of iPhone users who browse theWeb and view mobile video, far beyond that of smartphones and other mobile devices, the iPhone has powerful and ever growing prominence on the mobile Web,” he added.

 

According to Ad Infuse’s experience in the mobile advertising industry, iPhone users are much more engaged, interacting with advertisers’ landing pages ten times more than users of traditional mobile devices. 

 

“We’ve also seen iPhone users accounting for three times more video ad impressions than users of all other devices combined, yet they represent less than one percent of mobile devices today. Brand advertisers who want to create a deep connection and engage consumers need to take advantage of what the iPhone has to offer with its multimedia capabilities and powerful user experience,” Cowley explained.

 

Ad Infuse delivers highly personalized advertisements across all mobile devices. Uniting carriers, brands, content providers and consumers, Ad Infuse is defining the marketplace for mainstream mobile advertising. The company’s rich multimedia capabilities, including WAP and video content integration, allow it to serve multiple mobile formats and a variety of industries’ needs. Ad Infuse is highly targeted and has a broader reach than most other mobile advertisers.

 

Ad Infuse also developed an educational seminar series known as Mobile Ad Degree, for advertisers, content publishers and operators to learn about the challenges and opportunities in the developing field.

 

With over 25 years of experience in mobile, internet and direct marketing, Ad Infuse CEO and president, Brian Cowley has held positions at InfoSpace (News - Alert), LookSmart and Netscape, where he helped develop some of the earliest Web advertising programs.