The current market

In 2008 the mobile advertising market was valued at £28.6 million in the UK; however this only represents 0.16% of the total UK advertising market (valued at £17.5 billion ). Currently the market is still fragmented as various operating systems jockey for control, operators seek to channel advertising through their portals and arguably the “perfect” mobile ad format has yet to emerge. There are solutions to all of these challenges and looking forward the mobile phone represents the ideal vehicle for reinforcing branding to consumers.

Today's handsets have large, colour screens that provide high quality display advertising and engaging ways for users to interact with marketing campaigns. The devices provide a rich execution environment for applications and content that allows delivery direct to the device and offers the opportunity to create rich and robust interaction experiences for users. Coupled with the inherent communication capabilities of the phones, today's devices are an ideal environment for the delivery of relevant, engaging brand experiences for consumers.

Mobile phones are ubiquitous, highly personal and trusted devices carried by the user day and night. The direct line to consumers offered by a mobile phone allows the brand owner to identify where the user is, gain instant feedback of individual preferences and on the effectiveness of the campaign. This provides an opportunity to enhance the relevancy of brand communication and thus increase the return on investment for a given campaign. Since the mobile phone is foremost a communications device, it allows consumers to instantly enter into a dialogue with brands, whether through voice, messaging or other interaction. Other advertising and marketing media generally rely upon the consumer recall of an ad for further engagement at some time in the future.
 
Opportunities to build better branding

The potential for reach is enormous - there are nearly four times as many mobile phones globally as PCs - when coupled with the ability to measure response in real-time advertising spend effectiveness is optimised. The ability to push information and campaigns to users as well as to install branded applications and content on the device provides a means for advertisers to have their brand ‘real estate’ visible to consumers whenever they use their phone; no longer do advertisers have to wait for the consumer to come to the media.
 
The opportunity to extend the brand experience beyond simple display advertising is hugely powerful and the increased awareness by consumers of smartphones and mobile internet access is an important driver in enabling the growth of mobile marketing and branding. Consumers are more aware of their ability to access content from the phone and to download applications and content, with fixed price data plans making this behaviour more widespread.

Knowledge of the capabilities provided by the smartphone segment spills over into all other phone types; for example most devices have for some time supported over the air application and content delivery. However, thanks to the promotion of smartphone applications and services, the remaining 85% of mobile phone users are now engaging in browsing and the use of applications, meaning that there is a large and rapidly growing audience for mobile marketing and advertising that is not constrained by specific phone type.
 
However, SMS services also provide a largely untapped display advertising opportunity that has huge reach and volume - every mobile phone is guaranteed to be able to receive the format without needing to be a smartphone or have a mobile broadband connection. This highly personal and ubiquitous channel, coupled with the ability to measure interaction down to an individual level, through the use of third party solutions, provides a powerful and valuable marketing opportunity equal to, if not better, than that of mobile broadband.
 
The possibilities of mobile brand engagement are only just starting to be explored by marketing and creative agencies; we can expect to see an increasing proportion of their digital (and overall) campaign budgets being directed specifically at mobile. By providing users with a positive experience through relevant and enhanced offers in ads, subsidised or free content through apps the brand can nurture customer relations for the longer term.