Text Based Ads Nearly Ubiquitous In Europe
Text-based mobile advertising is nearly ubiquitous in Europe, with as many as three out of four mobile subscribers reporting they received an ad via SMS in July, according to M:Metrics, the mobile media research group.
However, with the exception of Germany and Italy, advertisements that did not come from the respondent’s mobile operator were from companies that did not have permission to contact them.
Evan Neufeld, M:Metrics senior analyst, said: “Certainly the level of interaction is impressive compared to almost any advertising vehicle available today. It is undeniable that text-based mobile advertising is both a highly prevalent and an extremely effective medium for engaging customers.”
Overall, just 17.5% of subscribers advertised to said they received an ad from a company to whom they had given permission, while 21.1% reported they were contacted by a company that did not have permission to advertise to them.
Germany and Italy were the exception, with 22.6% of Italians having received ads from a company with permission versus 9.8% without. In Germany, 23.5% had received opt-in SMS ads and 19.9% received ads from other sources.
“The early days of SMS advertising are similar to the advent of e-mail, which was initially a very effective, high conversion advertising platform,” said Neufeld. “However, e-mail’s value decreased over time because of over messaging and spam. Hopefully, the personal nature of the mobile phone will be a barrier against marketers killing the goose that lays the golden egg by taking a similar tack.
“It is not coincidental that the marketplace with the highest prevalence of SMS ads–Spain–also has the lowest level of response, as it is natural to see interaction with ads dip as the novelty factor wears off. The trick is to keep interaction as high as possible by keeping the messages targeted, having them come from trusted partners and capping frequency of communication.”
Overall, consumers in the six countries responded most to advertisements for mobile-phone related product and services (either mobile downloads or service plans) and for news and information or entertainment-related services.
| Text-Based Mobile Advertising, by Country: July 2007 | |||
| Country | Received SMS Ad | Percent subscribers receiving SMS ad | Percent responding to SMS ad |
| France | 27,743,916 | 62.30% | 7.60% |
| Germany | 15,089,753 | 32.50% | 5.70% |
| Italy | 25,567,895 | 56.80% | 8.00% |
| Spain | 24,122,581 | 75.40% | 6.10% |
| United Kingdom | 18,648,786 | 41.40% | 9.20% |
| United States | 36,671,828 | 17.20% | 12.00% |
| Source: M:Metrics Copyright © 2007. Survey of mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 12,728 French, n= 16,127 German, n= 13,696 Italian, n= 12,921 Spanish, n= 15,834 UK, n= 32,824 US. | |||
| U.K. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications | |||
| M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: July 2007 | |||
| Activity | Subscribers (1000s) | Percent | Percent Change |
| Sent Text Message | 38,978 | 86.60% | 0.00% |
| Used Photo Messaging | 13,709 | 30.50% | 2.90% |
| Used Personal E-Mail | 3,445 | 7.70% | 7.10% |
| Used Mobile Instant Messenger | 2,285 | 5.10% | 1.60% |
| Downloaded Mobile Game | 2,161 | 4.80% | -0.60% |
| Used Work E-Mail | 1,808 | 4.00% | 4.90% |
| Purchased Ringtone | 1,721 | 3.80% | 1.60% |
| Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver | 839 | 1.90% | -1.90% |
| Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 15,834 | |||
Recent research from first direct revealed that there are now more mobile phones than people in the UK (see Ofcom Plans New Public Service Channel To Rival BBC).
In other research, Gartner said that although there are currently 114 million text messages sent daily in the UK, text messaging will be obsolete within the next five years (see Text Messaging To Be Obsolete Within Five Years).