How do I buy advertising on the Mobile Web?

Buying advertising on the Mobile Web is similar to buying display advertising on the Internet. Graphical, interactive display ads are the predominant ad unit. In most cases, Mobile Web banner ad impressions can be purchased on a cost per thousand (CPM) or a cost per click (CPC) basis. Mobile offers targeting possibilities beyond that of traditional media. As this develops further, we would expect to see a range of targeting options
made available covering context, demographic and behavioral attributes. Any targeting options made available will comply with existing national level, legal and regulatory frameworks governing privacy and personal data.
Some operators and publishers that have Mobile Web sites sell mobile ads directly, while others allow their inventory to be sold by a third party, either as premium inventory or as part of a mobile ad network.
The biggest difference between buying Mobile Web display ads and Internet display ads is that Mobile Web ads are not sold by unit size. Because the sizes and resolutions of mobile phone screens vary, the way the content looks on those mobile phones will also vary. The sizes of Mobile Web banners as defined in the

MMA Mobile Advertising Guidelines are optimized to best fit the mobile phone on which the ad is being
viewed. This improves the user experience, ad readability, creative flexibility and effectiveness. This is why many publishers and ad networks may ask you to provide multiple versions of your banner creative with your Mobile Web campaign.

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Mobile Web

Mobile Web Advertising Overview

The Mobile Web is fast emerging as a mainstream information, entertainment and transaction source for people on the move and away from a PC. Browsing the Mobile Web is similar to traditional PC-based Web browsing and provides users with access to news, sports, weather, entertainment and shopping sites.

However, there are some significant differences between PCbased access and phone-based access:

• The mobile phone is a highly, targeted device with typically one user. As such, powerfully accurate and relevant communication messages can be delivered where users become instantly engaged with campaigns and content resulting in increased campaign effectiveness.

• The environment in which people interact with their mobile phone does not lend itself to detailed information

search and delivery. Instead, mobile users seek quick and convenient access to information and services when they are out and about. Space on the mobile phone screen is at a premium, and users have limited input mechanisms, so Mobile Web sites need to be easy to navigate using just the mobile phone keypad.

• Today’s mobile phones have a broad range of different form factors, screen sizes and resolutions, all of which presents a challenge for the display and optimal viewing of content and advertising. This document’s recommendations directly address this challenge.

Many operators provide a “home page” that is configured to work well with their subscribers’ browsers. The operator portal (also known as the carrier’s “deck” or on-deck) provides a variety of links to branded, mobile-specific external sites to make it easier for subscribers to navigate. Increasingly, mobile users browse

outside their operator portal. These ”off-portal” or off-deck sites are becoming important destinations for Mobile Web browsing, with sites such as Yahoo!, Facebook, BBC and Sky offering tailored

mobile experiences.

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Mobile Advertising

Introduction

Mobile advertising is a rapidly growing sector providing brands, agencies and marketers the opportunity to connect with consumers beyond traditional and digital media directly on their mobile phones.  This document is an overview on the mobile media channels available to advertisers today, including the benefits offered by each, and considerations to use in selecting and optimizing mobile advertising campaigns.

This document is adjunct to the Advertising Guidelines, which provide technical specifications, global formats, guidelines and best practices for each mobile channel.

Today, mobile phones can be utilized for much more than just making and receiving calls.  Besides voice services, mobile users have access to data services such Short Message Service (SMS), also known as text messaging, picture messaging, content downloads and the Mobile Web.  These media channels carry both

content and advertising.

The mobile phone is an extremely personal device.  One mobile phone typically has one unique user.  This makes the mobile phone a precisely targeted communication channel, where users are highly engaged with content.  As a result, the mobile channel delivers excellent campaign effectiveness and response

levels compared to other media.

Mobile is valuable as a stand-alone medium for advertising, but it’s also well suited for a vital role in fully integrated cross-media campaign plans, including TV, print, radio, outdoor, cinema, online and direct mail.  These examples illustrate the ways brands and marketers use the mobile channel to engage and interact

with consumers:

• Click to call (users place an outgoing call to the content provider or advertiser)

• Click to locate (users find, for example, the closest car dealer or movie theatre, enabled by location-based services)

• Click to order brochure (users receive marketing materials by supplying their postal addresses)

• Click to enter competition (users enter text or sweepstake to win prizes)

• Click to receive email (users receive an email and a link to online site by supplying their email address)

• Click to receive mobile coupon (users receive an electronic coupon on their mobile phone that can be redeemed immediately at a participating merchant)

• Click to buy (users make a purchase paid for with a credit card, added to their monthly mobile bill or using some other form of mobile payment)

• Click to download content (users download content, including logos, wallpapers or ring tones, onto their mobile phones)

• Click to enter branded Mobile Web site (users click a banner to get connected to standing or campaign-specific Mobile Web site)

• Click to forward content (users forward relevant content

to friends, creating a viral campaign effect)

• Click to video (users click a banner to view an advertiser’s commercial for a product or service)

• Click to vote (users reply message ballot or poll from their mobile phone and provide marketers and brands with valuable research insights)

When designing a mobile advertising campaign, there are multiple channels available to reach the consumer.  Those include Mobile Web sites, mobile applications, mobile messaging and mobile video, all of which can be integrated into the interactive campaigns previously described.  Each channel can link to additional mobile content or channels, as well as to complementing traditional media.  Mobile provides a powerful instant and

interactive response path, such as consumers sending a keyword to a short code via SMS, or registering on a Mobile Web site.

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SWOT Case Study - China Mobile

Corporate Overview

China Mobile Limited was started in 1997. Originally it was called China Telecom (Hong Kong) and then China Mobile (Hong Kong) and finally China Mobile Limited as we know it today. Its public offering in 1997 generated capital of USD $2.5 million, and a further massive investment of global capital (around USD $600 million) was made in 2004.

Today it trades in 31 provinces of China and essentially offers a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) which covers almost the entire nation. The business makes money from its voice-based services and other value-added services such as SMS text, mobile e-mail and similar services. This SWOT analysis is about China Mobile.

Strengths

• China Mobile was listed fifth in Millward Brown's Brandz Top 100 Brands in 2007. This would have be unheard of 10 years ago (or even less). The news means that the company is becoming more than a business since it is now also a brand i.e. possessing brand equity and brand value. Other Chinese brands to break the top 100 were the Bank of China, the Chinese Construction Bank and IBBC. It is argued by many that Chinese companies are not strong in relation to marketing but perhaps things are changing.
• The company has made good profits over recent years.
• China Mobile has gone down the acquisition trail on a number of occasions. In its early days it took over Jiangsu Mobile (1997). Other important acquisitions include Fujian Mobile, Henan Mobile, and Hainan Mobile (1999); - and Beijing Mobile, Shanghai Mobile, Tianjin Mobile and Hebei Mobile (2000). These developments have delivered strong growth.
• China Mobile is number one in the Chinese market. It recorded a 67.5% market share in 2006. It is the world's largest digital mobile company, and serves more customers than any other mobile supplier.

Weaknesses

• According to the head of China Mobile, China's home-grown mobile technology is a few years behind that of its international competitors since it was having problems with handsets. Essentially 3G technology was lagging behind. Part of the problem was the choice to swap to TD-SCDMA's network which many would consider inferior to the 3G technology offered by European and American alternatives (which their competitors have decided to adopt).
• The company is not globally diversified. Telecoms companies tend to trade in more than one country, usually through acquisition, joint-ventures or strategic alliances (for example see the SWOT analysis of Bharti Airtel). This may leave the company exposed if the Chinese market were to go into a deep or sustained decline.

Opportunities

• The Chinese economy has undergone enormous growth, which has lead to the huge demand for mobile telephones, devices and technologies. According to the Chinese Government, China is the world's largest mobile market with 520 million mobile phone users. This number could reach 600 million by 2010.
• Budget users in China are driving growth in the mobile telecoms sector. China Mobile reported a net profit between January and March 2008 of around 24.1bn yuan (£3.4bn; £2.2bn) which is a rise of 37% on 2007 according to BBC News.
• Since the cities have become saturated, much of the new growth is predicted for rural China and it is this segment that is most likely to be targeted by the large operators. 3G technologies provide the largest opportunity for China Telecom.

Threats

• New subscribers are mainly low-use, low-value. So average revenue is falling as the mobile phone market matures and the market becomes more price competitive. So mobile phone suppliers are awaiting the introduction of 3G mobile technologies to rejuvenate the market and stimulate demand as Chinese customers consume the new added value services.
• China Mobile could face more competition in the future as the Chinese Government plans to allow more operators into the market. China Mobile has 70% of the 2G market in China. China Unicom wants to become the biggest 3G operator, and China Telecom aims to win 15% of the 3G market by 2010.
• China Mobile has a number of service obligations under agreements with the Chinese (PRC) Government. So the business may be obliged to provide unprofitable services that pay a social dividend. Added to this the Ministry of Information and Industry has allocated a limited frequency (44MHz) to the company which will not support large numbers of subscribers in the future.

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