Last fall, Sprint Nextel made waves at CTIA when the company announced it would begin inserting advertising into its mobile content. This was a first. Typically, carriers have been very guarded about allowing advertising into the content they offer to their customers. One of the reasons has been the fear that consumers would be unhappy about the bombardment of advertising on their mobile devices.

Delivering advertising to mobile consumers is really nothing new. Mobile Internet services such as AvantGo and Vindigo have been delivering advertisements within their mobile content for the last seven or eight years with millions of mobile consumers subscribing without hesitation. Why then, at this point in time, is there such concern about inserting advertising into mobile content?

Many consumers are concerned about privacy—for example, the ability of services to deliver location-specific advertising. Users also want to avoid having spam creep into their mobile email or text messages.

Recent research from Informa Telecoms & Media backed this up when it discovered that cell phone users are "not at all willing" to receive advertising via SMS/MMS. Harris Interactive had similar findings in a study conducted last August, where it found that 12 percent of consumers were neutral to receiving advertisements on their cell phones and 63 percent did not want any ads.

Interestingly enough, both researchers found that there are those willing to view advertisements on their devices. Informa Telecoms & Media found that consumers are generally receptive to mobile advertising in return for free TV shows, games, music and other relevant services. Harris Interactive found that 26 percent of current mobile phone subscribers would watch cell phone ads in exchange for free applications. Yankee Group also weighed in on the subject in a recent study that showed 42 percent of mobile customers are open to mobile advertising if it's relevant—if they opt-in or for coupons or free services.

This is an important message for marketers and advertisers. The results of these studies point to one important fact: consumers want value and relevance in the messages that reach them on their mobile devices. Anything else is just an annoyance.

This is the reason that services like AvantGo and Vindigo have been so successful over the years. AvantGo delivers a free service to consumers in exchange for their advertising. Vindigo used to do the same, but even after switching to a subscription-based service a few years ago, Vindigo continued to deliver relevant content based upon the viewer's interests or searching habits.

Context Is King
So if it is true that consumers are willing to receive advertisements that are relevant, what does "relevant" mean? Many savvy marketers have already figured out great ways to provide value to their audiences while still delivering their messages.

When it comes to text messaging, the key is to ask users to opt-in. The mobile phone is a personal communication device and few are anxious to receive spam over such a medium. Marketers and advertisers can overcome this perception in a variety of ways.

Television shows such as "American Idol" and "Big Brother" ask users to text in votes via SMS shortcode. They can also opt to receive wallpaper, newsletters and are even invited to provide feedback on show ideas (e.g., Big Brother polled 500,000 users to determine which evicted houseguest should return). Companies such as Frito-Lay and Absolut have used shortcodes on outdoor billboards, inviting users to text in for contest entries, cool gear or mobile coupons.

Another great way to provide additional value to mobile consumers is through coupons. Sybase 365 and Adreact helped Dunkin' Donuts launch a mobile campaign that involved outdoor billboards, radio advertisements, 1500 promotional leaflets dropped among students and advertising posters displayed at stores.

What was exceptional about this overarching media mix is that the various mediums invited donut lovers to enter an SMS prize drawing, receiving in return a free coffee voucher, which was sent back to the consumer's handset for redemption at Dunkin' Donuts. In addition, mobile users also received options for additional texting opportunities to obtain store addresses and statistics regarding Dunkin' Donuts or to inquire about employment opportunities. Even more appealing to those mobile user, any customer who redeemed the SMS coupon and purchased a donut was automatically entered into a drawing to win a free Piaggio scooter.

Mobile-w eb banner advertising grew throughout 2006 with more and more companies looking to place their messages within existing content. Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless have begun adding banners to the top and bottom of content found on their services. Last fall, Yahoo also announced that it would place listings on the "go2 Directory" local-search website, accessible by all major carriers.

Marketers and advertisers need to be thoughtful about how they use web banners, remembering that they, too, should provide value to the user and not just function as an "in-your-face" annoyance. Again, mobile coupons would be a good possibility for web banners. Also, just as on the Internet, advertisers need to look for targeted opportunities for messages such as mobile websites and services that can focus on a particular demographic. For example, Microsoft knows that viewers of the Sci-Fi Channel are likely to be interested or involved in technology, so it makes sense for them to advertise its Visual Studio 2005 on the Sci-Fi Channel's AvantGo mobile website.

Another area for marketers and advertisers to consider is the development of a mobile Web site that provides value to users. The automotive industry has thoroughly embraced this concept, with companies including Audi, BMW, Jeep, Mercedes, Saturn and Toyota taking advantage of mobile "showrooms" that give users the ability to research new cars no matter where they may be. Users can get auto specifications, view new models, get dealer information, pricing and request more information.

Meanwhile, the History Channel's mobile Web site details that evening's show lineup, presents an informative article about "This Day in History" and offers polls, quizzes and the ability to sign up for email newsletters and updates from the History Channel and History.com.

The key to mobile advertising is to keep consumers in mind when developing new campaigns. How can your offerings prove useful to mobile users? Is there a way to interact with your mobile campaign? Be thoughtful, keeping in mind that your goal should be how you can help your customer by producing advertising and marketing messages that provide value rather than distraction and annoyance.

About the Author
Crystal King is senior product marketing manager at Sybase iAnywhere, a mobile middleware company. In addition to her current role in marketing and public relations, she previously drove marketing for the AvantGo mobile Internet service, now part of Sybase 365. King holds an M.A. in critical and creative thinking from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.