Taking It to The Bank

By Paula Bernier

We’ve already heard loads about how app stores, APIs, SDKs, SDPs, SOA and Web services are enabling service providers
to open their networks to third-party developers so both the carriers and the app creators can drive new revenues. But when we think about this model, most of us usually picture a scenario in which end users purchase an app , and developers and service providers share in the resulting margin. (At least
that’s what I think of.) However, another important opportunity relating to the above-mentioned acronyms, and service providers, is mobile advertising.

Ken Lee, director of product marketing for the Oracle Communications Service Delivery product family, says CMOs at service providers are interested not only in monetizing applications, but also in delivering advertising over mobile connections.

“Mobile marketing and advertising is expected to grow significantly in the next several years, and network operators need
to stake their claim in this lucrative opportunity area,” says Shira Levine, directing analyst of next-gen OSS and policy at
Infonetics Research.
To move on the mobile advertising opportunity, Lee says, service providers need advertising platforms that both map to their existing operational and billing support systems, and that enable them to expose various mobile advertising campaigns to potential advertisers. For example, to the latter point, Lee says, wireless network operators could build an inventory of contextual advertising campaigns – like a campaign related to a sports event and involving the delivery of coupons via SMS; or a program tied into a movie opening with specific mobile deliverables – and easily serve up this menu of options via a Web interface to potential advertisers like BMW and Starbucks.

While it will take some time for wireless operators to put these platforms in place, populate them with various mobile advertising campaigns and create the ecosystems that will enable them to expose these menus to potential advertisers, Lee indicates that the big service providers are in a pretty good position to put all this together given they themselves are important brands that know what big advertisers might be looking for.