Advertising agencies and marketers are getting excited. There’s a new kid on the block adding to their existing arsenal of methods of delivering their targeted messages and product promotions that entice us all to buy or sign up. Printed ads, TV ads, and billboard ads will all continue to play their part, but the continuing evolution of mobile communications now offers the mobile phone as the latest and potentially the greatest medium through which to channel an advertising message.

BIG OPPORTUNITY

In its report, Mobile Advertising and Marketing, ABI Research states that the worldwide mobile advertising market will be worth almost US$ 20 billion by 2011. Currently, operators/carriers in these markets are testing mobile advertising using delivery technologies such as SMS, MMS, video, and mobile TV. In some cases they are already allowing adverts to be delivered through their portals from third-party, offnetwork media groups.

EVERYONE MUST WIN

Taking advantage of this new and powerful advertising channel must not come at the expense of the mobile subscriber. It is vital that the new business models offer incentives for all parties: effective advertising for the advertisers; new revenue sources for the operators; and reduced cost services and content for the subscribers. Ensuring that the business models provide real value to each participant is key to building a successful mobile advertising industry.

CUSTOMER INTELLIGENCE –THE OPERATOR’S STRENGTH

The network resources that an operator possesses provide a wealth of very detailed information about each subscriber’s profile, activity, and location. Every call is captured in a detailed CDR and many events and activities are tracked, measured and stored in detailed event records by the complex network systems that the operator has at its disposal. By employing this data in an intelligent manner, the operator can match advertising messages to a target customer and therefore ensure that the advertising is effective and relevant. This capacity to direct an advertising message to the right customer at the right time is what makes the mobile channel so attractive to the advertising industry.

CHALLENGES TO BE ADDRESSED

As with any new business model, there are some challenges to be overcome. When faced with the prospect of mobile advertising, many subscribers feel that it will be the equivalent of spam with a high volume of interruptions being sent to their handset. It is important that any solution that is implemented can ensure that the advert is relevant to the customer, that the volume of the advertisements can be easily controlled, and that the subscriber has easy methods for opting into, and out of, campaigns. This is where the Jinny Advertising Engine differentiates itself. With simple opt-in and opt-out tools and easy control of the subscriber participation, the customer can feel comforted that they are only receiving advertising that they want and that they requested.

NEW COMMERCIAL MODELS

Another complexity that must be addressed is the different commercial models that exist in the two worlds of advertising and mobile telecommunications. Pricing in the advertising world is based on customer impressions and customer responses while commercials in the mobile
telecommunications world are itemised in calls or messages per second and in ARPU figures. Some learning is required on both sides before a position is achieved where the commercials are sensible and profitable to both sides. The commercial models that are gaining some credibility are those which
pass a price benefit to the subscriber – a cost reduction or a cheaper service upgrade – and which offer a price to the advertiser which both covers this subsidy and which makes sense when compared
against the prices of competing advertising media. Other models offer information services or entertainment –games or content – that are sponsored by the advertiser. Whatever the model, all sides must feel that the relationship is adding value to their business.

PIONEERING SOLUTION

Jinny Software’s Advertising Engine offers operators a world-class opportunity for fast entry to market so that the mobile operator will capture the returns from this expanding business and position itself as the primary partner for any advertiser. Within a matter of weeks the operator can be placing targeted text, image, audio, and video advertisements in the communications of their subscribers and after a very brief payback period will be generating a brand new revenue stream from this new activity.

For advertisers, Jinny’s Advertising Engine provides them with the ability to define, control, and manage campaigns, as well as delivering reports on the volume of impressions for each advertisement and the response actions of the subscribers that received them. Operators using the Engine have the tools to control and monitor the advertising activity on the network, to manage the advertisers and subscribers, and to output detailed accounting and reconciliation reports. And subscribers are offered simple methods of opting in and out of any mobile advertising campaign, ensuring customer loyalty is not compromised.

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