Mobile Advertising: A Complicated Infancy Posted on August 17, 2011 Post a comment

Mobile advertising has some serious infrastructure problems. But the lucrative potential of a solution has companies battling it out to determine who will reign supreme. A herd of startups accompanied by the likes of Apple and Google are all trying to be the first to hash out a standard means of creating, measuring and operating mobile advertisements.

A big challenge is the array of different devices floating around the hands of America’s estimated 234 million cell phone users. As you can imagine, this leads to some tremendous scaling and operational problems with ad formats. In addition, with so many phones and mobile networks to choose from, it’s nearly impossible for marketers to measure the sum effectiveness of their campaigns among all devices. Unless of course they are only trying to reach iPhone or iPad users, in which case, Apple’s new baby, iAd can do the trick.

The competition is fierce and there may never be a true winner—at least not anytime soon. That’s because companies such as Apple may provide useful ad tracking services but they have really only solved these problems for their mobile networks, devices and applications. So unless the entire country starts to “think different,” the problems with mobile advertising will persist. To complicate matters further, Google recently acquired Motorola Mobility Holdings, making Google the proud new parent of both smartphone software and hardware. This move, combined with Google’s Admob (a mobile ad platform similar to Apple’s iAd) only ups the competition between the leading smartphone and mobile companies.

So will it ever be possible to create a mobile advertisement with a single means of measurement and the ability to transcend different devices and networks? It’s becoming increasingly clear that the big players in the mobile arena may have no interest in this fairytale solution. Even if there was a way for mobile ads to cross over to different devices, just think of what would happen if Apple began acquiring entire networks or phone manufacturers such as Verizon or AT&T. The cutthroat competition between mobile technology providers will only perpetuate the issue and further divide the market based on which devices we choose. Capitalism at its finest.

We’re all basically holding our breath waiting for mobile advertising to make life easier, but until then, we’ll have to navigate through these uncharted waters with caution. That said, there are a couple of things we can do to improve our chances of success. First, we can all benefit from a streamlined, simple approach. Simple and consistent themes can be cranked out quickly for an array of devices utilizing the same small screen real estate. And second, if you by chance have some research that shows your target market has a preferred device, you can use that information to gear your efforts to making your ads work harder on those phones/tablets.

Either way, learning your target’s behaviors and exploring the different browsing experiences available on various devices is key. That way, when a big idea comes your way, you’ll know how well it will be able to translate across platforms. If you’re not sure the operating system on your audience’s phones can support your fancy-schmancy idea, think hard and long before putting it into action. It could make the difference between a solid experience across many devices, and a distinct split between a handful of happy users and lot of disappointed ones.

Sources:
http://adage.com/article/digital/pipes-broken-mobile-advertising/228954/
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/google-motorola-acquisition/