Is there money in mobile advertising?

Hong Kong - While mobile TV audience are projected to hit up to 500 million in the next five years, the advertising and subscription models are still in their infancy stage, according to a new report.

The study, commissioned by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and research group Tomorrow, highlights three barriers to mobile advertising, which includes the mobile TV audience size, effectiveness of mobile ad serving and targeting technology and the sophistication of the local ad market. 

Mobile advertising remains a "sleeping giant" the report said, and to date, markets which have launched free services dependent on advertising, have struggled due to the relative immaturity of the three factors listed above.

Kevin Huang, CEO for Pixel Media, whose company was appointed by Nokia Ad Business to sell mobile advertising in Asia in Nov 2007, said the report is accurate in stating the lack of sophisticated infrastructure at present for mobile ad opportunities.

He added however that mobile advertising is still new and that the situation will change over time but the bigger issue is for advertisers to consider how to integrate mobile into their overall marketing plans.

Huang said the Beijing Olympics this year might be the killer app and spur mobile advertising in China.

Speaking to Marketing recently, Patrick Stahle, Aegis Media CEO for Asia Pacific, warned that advertisers should be wary of a consumer backlash over intrusive mobile messages.

“The mobile phone is still considered a personal space, that’s why it has not become a big advertising vehicle where you can actually monetise it, you need to respect integrity much more. People don’t want to be intruded by too many messages. I think that is so obvious now".