Aggressive mobile advertising may jeopardize subscriber base: AT&T exec

By Dan Butcher

September 11, 2008

People swarm a display to view a presentation at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – Carriers value the steady stream of subscriber revenue over all else and are treading carefully when deploying advertising.

For the market to reach its full potential, all of the pieces must fit for each of the respective shareholders in the mobile marketing ecosystem. During the “Mobile Marketing Ecosystem: What Carriers Want” panel at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008, carriers discussed how their desires will align with the critical issues raised by consumers, brands, aggregators, and application and content providers.

“You never want to look at a revenue opportunity and say no, but if mobile advertising is too aggressive, that jeopardizes our subscriber base,” said Matt Hull, executive director of advertising for AT&T, Atlanta. “It’s in our interest to make sure we keep it a good experience for customers.”

The panel struck a common chord regarding privacy issues.

“There are so many privacy concerns and we don’t want to spook customers,” said Kristi Crum, director of multimedia content for Alltel Wireless, Little Rock, AR.

“Consumers are open and willing to an ad-supported model to get content when they want it at a reduced rate," she said.

The panel recognized that consumers are willing to view advertising if there is something in it for them.

“There are opportunities to reduce the cost of content and improve the quality of content subsidized by advertising,” said Kevin McGinnis, director for Sprint Nextel, Overland Park, KS.

“We want to serve ads that don’t interrupt user experience, we’re avoiding interstitial ads, so the user experience remains high," he said.

“Campaigns must be targeted and relevant so consumers want to engage in advertising.” 

The carriers described ad-supported mobile content as a win-win situation.

“When you offer premium content at a reduced cost or even free, advertisers get a medium that’s in super-high growth mode, and consumers get a good opportunity to interact with the brands and products they are interested in,” said Joseph Kearney, senior account manager for Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, NJ.

“Targeting is coming to a tipping point, and brands are learning how to take advantage and realize the full effectiveness of the mobile channel," he said.

“It’s time to think outside of what mobile advertising has been, look at cross-platform plays and integrate three platforms from a single campaign standpoint.” 

Many industry players at CTIA have been preaching innovation, and the carriers were no exception.

“We need a paradigm shift from buying a broad audience to actually getting the individual demographic that you want,” Mr. Hull said. “The reach of mobile marketing is still in its infancy, but it’s growing quickly.

“There are a lot of people in the ecosystem with their hand in the pot, and it’s very complicated, so we have to agree on standards,” he said. “Mobile’s going to have a lot to offer.”