1. includes Mobile Marketing Association EMEA
mobile advertising guidelines
All you need
to know
about mobile
advertising.
advertising: the emerging uk market

2. mobile
advertising: the emerging UK market

3. Contents page
Contents
2 Introduction
4 What is mobile internet advertising?
9 The importance of mobile in our daily lives
12 Mobile internet advertising –
what is available now?
22 Mobile advertising standards
24 Mobile marketing
26 Challenges and barriers
32 Case Study 1: Royal Navy - get the message
33 Case Study 2: Citroën
34 Our survey says: is mobile ready?
38 Conclusion
40 Jargon buster
44 Other mobile organisations
44 Acknowledgements
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 1

4. Introduction
By Guy Phillipson
I’m a big fan of Family Fortunes - a word association game show
once hosted by Les Dennis that asked a panel of 100 people the
answer to a question such as: “name something you could do in
your sleep”, “name something you wear on your feet” or “name
something you would use the internet for.” As a brief aside, I’ve
never encountered anyone that actually took part in one of these
panels, even though it’s been a lifelong ambition of mine.
So allow me to be Les Dennis for a second. What if I asked you to
“name a type of year”?
There are many possible responses: light year, school year, financial year, leap
year, the year of the cat - all common in our day-to-day vocabulary. If I were to ask
100 industry commentators on the other hand, the answers would probably be
dominated with a different kind of year. The year of online, the year of the blog or
the podcast, the year of user-generated-content and most recently it would seem,
the ‘year of mobile’. As a medium we appear to be quite bold in our predictions
of what characterises the coming year. The next 12 months have been heralded
as the real turning point for mobile internet advertising, when the experience will
match the technology and consumers will get over their hang-ups about using
their mobile phones for something other than communication and surf ‘til their
hearts’ content on the move, occasionally interacting with advertising, of course.
It’s true that a growing number of people are already using mobile internet, as
an ex-Vodafone man it’s an area I’m particularly excited about. They’re using it
for news and entertainment, travel information and locations, price comparisons
2

5. Introduction by Guy Phillipson
and email. Male 16 – 34 year olds have proven to be the early adopters but other
groups are steadily increasing their usage as familiarity with the medium develops.
Transparency of mobile packages is improving, content is getting better and
more relevant, and mobile usability is finally beginning to be addressed with the
development of more and more tailor-made mobile sites and the next generation
of mobile technology.
We know that media owners already have established models for advertising on
mobile, but have found that thus far - unsurprisingly - marketers have been relatively
cautious. However, there are a number of benefits to mobile marketing that your
brand can enjoy: enhanced targeting by demographic and day-part, the highly
personal nature of the mobile phone, mass reach and the fact that users are likely
to have their mobiles always with them and always on. Exploit these opportunities
with a great creative idea and really relevant content and you’re probably on the
right path. Of course that’s easier said than done, and the medium is not without
“So allow me to be Les
its challenges and inextricable barriers before it really hits the mainstream. So we’ve
written this report with the Mobile Marketing Association to provide some key facts Dennis for a second.
and useful case studies on how mobile internet advertising can work in practice. What if I asked you to
Like other IAB reports, this document will present a thorough overview of the UK
market as it currently stands, a profile of your audiences and what they’re doing, “name a type of year”?
all the vital statistics regarding past, present and future growth as well as standards
and guidelines for brands now looking to take their marketing communications
even further. We’ve also asked the experts within our IAB membership to find out
exactly where they think the market is headed, and I assure you it’s an essential
read.
So it’s safe to say that the IAB is definitely ‘going mobile’, in fact it makes sense given
that many of the same rules apply to both internet advertising and mobile internet
advertising. But will 2008 be the year of mobile? To be honest I don’t know, but
I do know that the technology is there, I know that your consumers are ready and
waiting, and I know the possibilities are endless to engage with your audiences in
new and exciting ways. As an industry we’re in a transition period and 2008 - 2010
will be significant years in the development of the medium. But our advice is don’t
wait until the official ‘year of mobile’ before you take that next step. Put your mobile
plans into place now and you’ll be reaping the rewards indefinitely.
Guy Phillipson
CEO
Internet Advertising Bureau
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 3

6. What is mobile
internet advertising?
Mobile internet advertising is any form of advertising on a mobile device that
requires the internet. This can include websites designed for mobile phones,
search engine marketing, traditional banner adverts, video adverts and ringtone
“There are a number downloads. All of these advertising tools are already available for mobile phones.
of similarities that can
Mobile marketing on the other hand encompasses all of the above, but also
be drawn between includes text messaging, mobile commerce and Bluetooth marketing. These
traditional internet methods of marketing use mobile, but don’t necessarily use the internet. On
a mobile device, you can usually tell when an application is using the internet
advertising and mobile because it will either warn you in advance or a small connection symbol will appear
internet advertising” at the edge of the screen (often a spinning globe).
Accessing the internet on mobile can be done in a number of different ways, but
the current standard in the UK is using one of two different technologies:
• 3G – this stands for ‘third generation’ and allows for high speed data transfer
using a mobile phone signal. It is now the standard for mobile internet
connection in the UK and costs the user money depending on how much
information they download. Although mobile operators now offer fixed cost
monthly packages (discussed later in this report).
• WIFI – stands for ‘wireless fidelity’. In the same way that computers and
laptops can connect to the internet using wireless routers, mobile phones are
now adding the same technology. This means that a phone can bypass the
need to connect via a mobile signal, and instead connect to the internet using
existing broadband connections, be it in the home, office or public place.
4

7. What is mobile marketing?
However, as technology develops, the lines are continuing to merge as some
companies are producing systems that combine text and mobile website
technology. For instance, it is possible to send a text message with a link for
instant access to a website. Then, by registering on the website, it is possible to
receive text alerts to be reminded when to look at the website again for updates.
For the purpose of this report, we will be concentrating on mobile internet
advertising and its growth in the UK.
What are the similarities with internet advertising?
There are a number of similarities that can be drawn between traditional internet
advertising and mobile internet advertising despite being delivered and consumed
differently it uses much of the same technology. Plus many of the fundamental
characteristics of online advertising (interactivity, permission based etc.) still
Channel 4 encourage people to send texts
apply.
to receive a message in return with links
direct to their mobile site.
In most instances, advertising is booked using exactly the same models that
you already use for internet advertising, like Google’s AdWords for paid search
for example.
The way in which adverts are delivered is also largely the same. For instance
banner adverts still appear on mobile sites next to relevant content and video
adverts appear before or after video programming.
What are the differences with internet advertising?
The differences are largely practical:
• Small screen size resulting in less space for content.
• Harder to use interfaces (although this is improving).
• Slower connection speeds resulting in a need for smaller file sizes.
• Internet accessed on the move, away from desks.
• Usually supplementary to primary internet access on computers or laptops.
• Mobile internet is used for different reasons e.g. for snippets of information
useful for a journey such as restaurant locations to meet a friend, timetables for
trains, short news bites or TV programmes to pass the time on a train journey.
Bear all of this in mind and understand what a user requires from a mobile internet
experience and you will begin to realise that mobile advertising must be treated
very differently. However, like internet ads, mobile ads work best when they are
relevant and useful to the user and created for that particular device.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 5

8. What is mobile
internet advertising?
The state of the mobile advertising market
The UK mobile advertising market is in its infancy. Today, the majority of mobile
“Reach and frequency advertising bought and sold is ‘on portal’, sold through third party sales-houses
are a long way from (e.g. Screen Tonic for Orange, Yahoo! for Vodafone and 4th Screen for O2).
their theoretical Inventory on ‘off-portal’ sites is also sold by third party specialist sales-houses
maximum due to (e.g. Admob, Adinfuse) as well as some web companies like Unanimis. This
allows for interest group targeting, when adverts are placed on sites depending
the early stage of on the audience interested in the content of that site (e.g. sites like The Spectator,
the market.” Financial Times and The Economist may attract a slightly older demographic).
For on-portal advertising the ad sales model which sees mobile inventory sold
according to the section of the portal where the ad appears will be replaced
by a model targeting mobile users by socio-demographic profiling, behavioural
analysis and location in order to provide better targeting.
Measurement
Buying advertising on the mobile internet is similar to buying display advertising
on traditional internet. In most cases banner ad impressions can be purchased
by cost-per-thousand (CPM). Prices vary according to the degree of targeting:
the majority of on-portal ads sell for £10 - £20 per thousand, whilst highly
targeted ads on special interest sites, or served only to certain aggregated socio-
demographics or served on a search results page can sell for up to £100 per
thousand. Othermobile internet site owners, predominantly publishers, sell their
mobile inventory on both the CPM and cost-per-click (CPM) bases. Prices for
display advertising are typically 5p - 25p per click.
Highly bespoke on and off portal banner campaigns comfortably generate double
digit response rates at a fractional cost of other traditional channels. Click through
rates range from 0.5% (on a typical off-portal site) up to 4% (on portal), considerably
higher (sometimes 15 times) than the equivalent for tradtional internet sites.
Inventory
Inventory is still relatively scarce because of a ‘shortage of eyeballs’. Both reach
and frequency are a long way from their theoretical maximum due to the early
stage of the market. Today less than a third of mobile subscribers regularly use
the mobile internet and they average only one page per day (source: MMA UK).
6

9. What is mobile internet advertising?
The total UK inventory of page impressions is estimated at one billion page
impressions per month (October 2007) but is growing at 9% month-on-month
and is expected to reach over five billion by the end of 2008 (source: MMA UK).
Opportunities
Mobiles offer a vast number of opportunities for advertisers, but only through
clever marketing that takes into consideration the needs of a consumer on the
smaller device. Benefits include:
• Mobiles are extremely personal because they are only used by one person;
a dream for targeting and measurement.
• Mobiles are always with the user, resulting in opportunities to target people
in ways that no other device can.
• Mobiles are always on (unless the battery runs out!) allowing the user to
access advertising at any time, no matter where they are.
• Mobiles are highly interactive – all mobile handsets now come with many
different uses (call, text, camera, music player, web browser).
• Mobiles have unparalleled reach with over 90% of the UK population owning
one, if not more, handsets.
Trends
Accessing the internet on mobile is becoming faster and easier. 3G allows for
mobile optimised web pages to load within a few seconds, almost equivalent to
broadband internet access (in terms of the speed of page load). WIFI technology
allows for internet access at the same speed as internet on a computer at no extra
cost. As WIFI becomes more commonplace in public spaces too like cafes and
hotels, mobile internet is easier and far cheaper than it has ever been.
In terms of marketing, text and picture messaging (SMS / MMS) are still being
used to introduce advertisers to mobile, almost as a taster for everything else
mobile has to offer. However, this is gradually beginning to change as mobile
advertising develops and people become more aware of what the medium can
be used for.
Search is being used more on mobile with operators implementing search on their
own portals and other sites as well. Search has been one of the driving forces
behind internet growth and the growth of internet advertising, and this is being
replicated on mobile.
Banner ads are already being used well across mobile internet, although it is still a
very young area with a lot of improvement to be made. However, we are already
seeing increased creativity with mobile banners and sponsorships.
Video pre-roll and post-roll, and ad-funded content are starting to emerge. Volume
is limited both in terms of current audience and advertising, but this is increasing
and will continue to do so rapidly over next few years.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 7

10. The importance
of mobile in our
daily lives
In total, there are 60 million people in the UK, of which 48 million
own mobile phones, although there are 70 million active mobile
connections (active = in the last 90 days). Unsurprisingly, the profile
of mobile users is fairly similar to that of the UK population.
“I would feel unwanted if
a whole day went by when According to the Mobile Life European Report1, the British population tend to use
my phone didn’t ring or the full range of mobile features:
receive a text message”.
• Over half of them have used Bluetooth.
• 37% have recorded a video using a mobile handset.
• 27% have downloaded a music track.
• Almost half of the British mobile population (46%) have accessed the internet
using their mobile.
• 25% have uploaded pictures or videos to the internet through their mobile.
• 20% of the research respondents said that they used GPS.
• 18% watched TV or video clips.
• 9% used their mobile to pay bills.
• 8% bought products using their mobile.
The greater use of full functionality means that the mobile phone is the most
important possession for 1 in 6 people in Britain – this increases to 1/3 of
individuals when looking at those aged 16-24. No wonder they are emotionally
reliant on their phones… indeed, 1 in 6 British people agree with the statement “I
would feel unwanted if a whole day went by when my phone didn’t ring or receive
a text message”.
8

11. The importance of mobile in our daily lives
As it is often the case with new technologies, mobile internet users tend to skew
to 18-34 year-old men2. However, as with online a few years ago, this is expected
to even out as usage grows.
Who’s browsing mobile internet?
Mobile internet usage is predicted to be driven by infotainment (entertainment
information, e.g. sports and news) consumption3, as with the internet in the 57% 33%
early days.
men women
29% 30% 22% 11% 8%
under 24 25-34 35-44 45-55 55+
Source: MMetrics August 2007
Monetising audiences via profiling
Mobile operators own extensive records of their customers. Whilst operators need
to respect their customers’ privacy and not share personal profile information with
third parties, there is great commercial potential in creating consumer clusters
based on socio-demographic characteristics, spend, usage and other behavioural
information, and providing this to advertisers for precise audience targeting.
This information will be available soon on an aggregated basis, as these databases
are built and populated, and as common standards are achieved.
Market growth 1 The Mobile Life European Report 2007
2 M:Metrics, August 2007
The mobile internet advertising industry is predicted to gather momentum over the 3 Strategy Analytics, Global Cell Update,
next few years, driven by the rollout of new technologies and services from media October 2007
owners and network operators, and by the steady adoption of new services by 4 The Communications Market Report,
consumers. Ofcom, August 2007
As the handset sector continues to evolve, it will ultimately drive the market for
mobile internet access. By the end of 2006, there were 7.8m 3G connections in
the UK, up from 4.6m for the previous year4. Penetration is expected to continue
to increase rapidly over the next few years as 3G-only operator 3 (logo) has been
joined by other mobile network operators (MNO) which have started migrating
their subscribers onto their 3G networks.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 9

12. The importance of mobile
in our daily lives
The below graph shows that over a third of people with 3G equipped phones are
accessing news and information on mobile sites at least once a month:
Over a third of 3G users are accessing news and info once or more in a month
% of 3G subscribers using their mobile phones to carry out the following...
55.7%
Took photos 78.6%
30.6%
Used network services for photos/videos
47.8%
18.4%
Accessed news and info
34.0%
Once or more
Watched any kind of mobile TV and/or video 1.3%
in a month
17.1%
Accessed sports information 7.5%
15.6%
Total subscribers
8.4%
Used email (work or personal) 15.1%
4.0%
3G subscribers
Watched video sent by family or friends
14.7%
Accessed social networking site or blog 2.7%
4.8%
Accessed stock quotes or financial news 2.2%
4.5%
2.6%
Ordered ringtone via mobile browser
3.9%
Source: M:Metrics, Survey of mobile 0.9%
Ordered ringtones via shortcode
subscribers in the UK 1.0%
Data based on 3 month moving average for 0.7%
Ordered ringtone on PC and retrieved on handset
period ending 31st August 2007
0.8%
Source: M:Metrics, Survey of mobile subscribers in UK
Data based on 3 month moving average for period ending 31st August 2007
Additionally, most mobile handsets now have internet capability. Nearly four out
of five handsets sold in the first quarter of 2006 were internet-enabled3. Moreover,
the introduction of unlimited data tariffs at prices as low as £5 a month means that
cost will no longer be a barrier to growth of mobile internet usage.
The growing number of partnerships between mobile network operators and
online media owners is accelerating the improvement in mobile internet sites and
enhancing customer experience to a level approaching that available to users of
fixed-line internet.
The graph below from M:Metrics provides a brief overview of the activities of
mobile subscribers in the UK. As you can see, search activity and information
such as news and entertainment are the most popular areas of usage. Utilities like
the weather and maps for directions are also popular on mobile.
10

13. The importance of mobile in our daily lives
News/Info sections - browser access by subscribers
Total and 3G Subscribers. Browser access subgenre: news/info subgenre: news/info
Total and 3G Subscribers, Browser access
14.8%
Search
7.2%
14.1%
News
6.3%
12.9%
Sports Info
6.1%
8.1%
Weather
3.7%
8.0%
Entertainment News
3.8%
5.1%
Maps and Directories
2.3% Source: M:Metrics, Survey of mobile
subscribers in the UK
Movies and Entertainment 4.4% Data based on 3 month moving average
info 2.2% for period ending 31st August 2007
Finally, the prevalence of more advanced mobile technology in the near future will
Source: M:Metrics, Survey of mobile subscribers in UK
Data based on 3 month moving average for period ending 31st August 2007
offer advertisers the opportunity to reach large numbers of consumers with more
sophisticated marketing communications. Rich media will be used to convey
stronger brand messages or to demonstrate products and services through the use
of sound and pictures. 5 Strategy Analytics, July 2007
6 Strategy Analytics, July 2007
For these reasons, amongst others, the UK mobile advertising market in Western
society is expected to grow to £187m by 20115. According to forecasts from
Strategy Analytics, growth will be driven by display advertising, followed by search6.
Penetration of mobile and mobile internet
For several years there have been more mobiles than landlines but in 2006, for
the first time, mobile penetration of households exceeded that of fixed lines in the
UK. There are now more households with a mobile and no landline than the other “In Asia people access the
way round. This shows that the consumer is embracing the convenience of always internet by mobile, not PC.
having their mobile to hand. It is this convenience factor that means mobile has the PCs are the dinosaur.”
potential to overtake the PC as the preferred way to access the internet. (Martin Sorrell, WPP)
At present Vodafone estimates 27% of its customer-base regularly uses the mobile
for browsing, collecting emails or instant messaging; all of which use the same WAP
protocol. Vodafone predicts this figure will reach at least 50% by 2010.
Mobile Internet access
Mobile internet access
Browse Mobile
Internet 20%
27%
Send/receive
eMail 9%
Any mobile
internet
Used Instant
Messaging
10% services used
Source: Incentivated
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 11

14. Mobile internet
advertising – what is
available now?
With new terminology like ‘idle screen ads’ and ‘client applications’,
you can begin to see why marketers aren’t yet familiar with the
advertising tools mobile has to offer.
However, in 2007 mobile internet advertising started creeping
“Mobile internet is being onto the agenda. As talk of a ‘mobile web boom’ spread thick
used by consumers and and fast, some publishers began early adoption of mobile internet
advertising solutions are advertising models. As we have already discussed, mobile
available now.” internet is being used by consumers and advertising solutions
are available now. Brands that have kept up with the trends are
already exploiting the medium.
In this section we will showcase genuine and practical mobile internet advertising
solutions that are available for you to use. If you aren’t familiar with them already,
you soon will be.
Typical mobile web actions
Advertisers can run a variety of advertising campaigns. Beyond the branding
opportunity of banner ads (discussed later) marketers can also use a variety of
response mechanisms built into text and display ads (or within an actual text
message) for example:
• Click-to-call (users place an outgoing call to the advertiser)
• Click-to-locate (users find the nearest supplier, e.g. car dealer, shop,
restaurant or cinema etc, enabled by location-based services)
12

15. Mobile internet advertising -
what is available now?
• Click to order brochure (users receive marketing materials by supplying their
postal address)
• Click to enter competition (users enter prize draw or instant win)
• Click to receive email (users receive an email with links to a website by
supplying their email address, enabling completion of the purchase online)
• Click to receive mobile coupon (users apply for mobile coupon – possibly a
barcode – which provides access to an event or store discount etc)
• Click-to-buy (users make a purchase which may include some form of mobile
or signatureless direct debit / credit card payment)
• Click to download content (users download content, including logos,
wallpapers, ringtones, onto their mobile phones)
• Click to enter branded mobile internet site (users click a banner ad to
connect to standing or campaign-specific mobile internet site)
• Click to forward content (users forward relevant content to friends, creating
a viral campaign effect)
Source: MMA’s mobile advertising guidelines 2007
Mobile websites (also known as WAP sites)
You’ve got to start somewhere, and establishing your own web presence is as
good a place as any. Without a mobile website people will be attempting to load
your full website onto their phone and probably crashing it in the process.
Although a number of devices, like the iPhone, now offer a full web experience on Calvin Klein’s CKIN2U
a small screen, ownership in the UK is extremely small in comparison to the mobile campaign microsite.
market as a whole. In any case, even on a larger screened phone with zoom
functions like the iPhone, a standard website won’t offer the best user experience
because it is designed for a screen 8 – 10 times the size and situated in a more
relaxed environment. Ignore the requirement for a mobile website, and your brand
could fail to be usable and accessible.
Considerations
Remember, this is internet on the move; users don’t have time to trawl through a
vast website. Think carefully about what people will and won’t require. Potentially
you could include all of your online information, but the way it is accessed and
presented will need to be different.
A mobile site requires even fewer clicks than a standard site to reach key information.
There is also less space to view content, so try to minimise the amount of content
on a page. Don’t be worried about splitting long articles over multiple pages, once
someone has found content they are interested in they won’t mind clicking for
more, but getting them to that content in few clicks is key. Pay attention to images,
particularly with text on them because images won’t scale well on phones. Also
replicate graphs and charts on the mobile site pages rather than using graphics to
ensure they can be viewed correctly.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 13

16. Mobile internet advertising –
what is available now?
Due to the many different mobile handsets available with different screen sizes
and resolutions, it can be difficult to create pages to suit them all. The easiest way
is to avoid using layouts reliant on images and don’t have a fixed width.
Other things to consider are linking the web and phone technology together.
Telephone numbers can be linked directly from a website to a call, so ensure that
ability has been added and think about expanding the amount of staff information
available on the site. If someone’s late for an appointment, an email address isn’t
the best use of information, but a direct line number is.
Useful tools / links
Test to see if your mobile site is accessible and usable on mobiles with Ready.
mobi’s testing tool: http://ready.mobi/launch.jsp?locale=en_EN.
Casestudy 1
As the tradebody for internet advertising, at the IAB we like to think we’re able to set a good
example – we also like to make the most of a good opportunity. In 2007 the IAB decided
it would need a mobile presence as an example for its members, but primarily to offer an
additional service with information available on the move.
Redsnapper, the web design company behind IAB’s internet site produced the mobile site in
conjunction with IAB’s team, replicating the brand for the smaller screen.
The specification was for a trimmed down version of the main IAB site with core information
that our members would need out of the office such as contact information, event dates and
locations, news and research. In depth content that would take a long time to read such as
marketing guides were left off in the first phase.
To visit the mobile IAB website, go to: mobile.iabuk.net
14

17. Mobile internet advertising -
what is available now?
Search
Search commands 60% of internet advertising spend in the UK. The reasons?
Search is integral to everyday life and it is also highly measurable, but primarily it is
so popular among advertisers because it has such a high return on investment.
Likewise, on mobile, search is often the starting point for any web experience and
mobile search advertising comes with exactly the same benefits as standard search.
Already Google, Yahoo and the mobile operators themselves are offering mobile
specific search advertising using their existing advertiser tools; in fact Google has
had a ‘mobile’ tab on their Adwords console for some time.
Considerations
The way search is presented and used on mobile, while largely similar to internet,
does bear significant differences. Due to the reduced available space, search results
are limited. This usually results in 10 natural search listings sandwiched between 2
- 3 paid for listings at the top and bottom of the page. All listings have less space
for text.
Other than these display differences, the functionality is more or less the same. Ads
are placed using the same online tools and search engine optimisation principles
from standard websites are carried across to mobile.
Geographical search is obviously at home on a mobile, however on the whole,
search services aren’t yet able to tell advertisers the exact location of an individual
without them entering the location themselves. The best example of geographic
search is using a map service such as Orange Local.
Useful tools / links
Not only do all of the mobile phone operators have search engines built into their
portals (some of which are powered by internet search engines) but the main
internet search engines have gone mobile too:
Google mobile: http://www.google.co.uk/m/
Yahoo mobile: http://uk.wap.yahoo.com/
MSN mobile: http://www.msn.co.uk (the site knows automatically that you
are on a mobile).
To place adverts on Google mobile search visit http://adwords.google.co.uk
and to place adverts on Yahoo mobile search email:
ysm-uk-mobile@yahoo-inc.com
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 15

18. Mobile internet advertising –
what is available now?
Display: text and banner ads
Text and banner ads are exactly the same as internet ads but smaller. New
systems such as Doubleclick’s integrated online ad booking software (DART)
have made booking mobile ads part of same systems as the standard website
counterparts. The systems know the size of the mobile screen, serving the
correctly sized ads automatically.
Measurement is already available for mobile comparable to internet banner ads,
but there is room for improvement. That improvement is happening quickly with
enhanced systems due in 2008. At the moment it is still possible to target based
on demographics, contextual and, unique to mobile, specific mobile handsets.
Considerations
Size factor means there are issues around the amount of creative that can be
squeezed into the smaller space (often just a logo and a small image). Download
speeds mean that animated or video ads aren’t really an option just yet. If a user
is in a hurry, they won’t appreciate waiting for a mobile web page to load an advert
before they reach their content.
There are greater differences too, created by the way people use mobile internet.
People are often in a hurry when using mobile internet so they don’t browse in
the same way as on standard internet, they have a predefined objective such as
finding an address. Time is even more precious on mobile, so users will only click
through on an ad if the incentive is particularly desirable.
Inventory is still relatively scarce because of a shortage of eyeballs. Both reach
and frequency are a long way from their theoretical maximum due to the early
stage of the market. Today less than a third of mobile subscribers regularly use
the mobile internet and they average only one page per day (source: MMA UK).
Sponsorships and tenancies
A sponsorship is when a company finds a website with content that matches
its values and then adds advertising and their branding to the site. For example,
a brand like Nike could benefit from ensuring a high profile on a sports news
website. Tenancies are when a brand provides content or a service specifically
for a website other than their own. For example, AOL allows holiday companies
to provide services and content for their travel section receiving a percentage of
the revenues.
16

19. Mobile internet advertising -
what is available now?
Both of these are two forms of mobile internet advertising that are incredibly similar
to standard internet. In principle, they are exactly the same but for the smaller
screen taking into account all of the considerations required for mobile websites
and display advertising.
Sponsorships must take into account the reduced amount of space for graphics
and messaging, aiming to really focus their campaign message. This encourages
a greater selection process to find the right partner for a sponsorship and greater
creativity to offer a better purpose for the sponsorship.
Case study 2 – Channel 4 and Ford
In 2007 Ford sponsored Channel 4’s video service 4onDemand Mobile. The level
of sponsorship was minimal and non-intrusive, simply featuring the company
logo and a short amount of text. This was done to raise the company’s profile by
being associated with quality content and the Channel 4 brand.
Video
One format that has flourished only really on the internet is video. Once it had arrived
it wasted no time in becoming one of the largest methods of content delivery. On
mobile, video is set to be one of the driving forces behind mobile internet with the
likes of Channel 4 already offering video clips, and services like iTunes offering
downloadable video content for mobile devices.
Advertisers are able to attach and integrate advertising within video content for
mobile in exactly the same way as online. Pre-roll, post-roll and short sponsorship
slots are perfectly at home on mobile video and offer all of the benefits you would
enjoy online. These include contextual and demographic targeting as well as
measurability in terms of how many people have downloaded the video.
There are other opportunities too like advertiser funded video. The laws for
advertiser funded video that apply to television don’t apply online. This allows
advertisers to produce their own programmes including the products. HowTo.tv is
for traditional internet, but is an excellent example of advertiser funded video that
could easily be reproduced for mobile.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 17

20. Mobile internet advertising –
what is available now?
However, the smaller screen size, even on larger screened mobiles, is still too
small to view text used in standard TV advertising. This equates to the need for
mobile specific video advertising. As with banner ads, there is less space for
messaging, and clickthrough is currently impractical.
Mobile video ads are a brand building and message delivery tool. Due to the
high level of engagement with consumers watching on the phone, it means video
advertising is one of the most powerful tools for reaching consumers on the move
Selects programme
cutting through the bombardment of other distractions.
Example: Channel 4’s mobile 4onDemand
Channel 4 recently launched their mobile video channel for their 4onDemand
service. On the channel users can select from a number of video clips to download
that have included Big Brother, Popworld, Deal or No Deal and Desperate
Housewives. Once downloaded, each clip has a short 1 second pre-roll advert
Selects episode clip
attached, in this instance for the Ford Brand.
The advert was to build the Ford brand with quality video content rather than for
a particular Ford product. Its level of impact is obvious when looking at the user
journey in the images on the left.
Mobile affiliate advertising
Before video clip a short ad
is played Affiliate advertising is a working relationship whereby a merchant (online shop or
advertiser) has consumers driven to it by ads on an affiliate (content website).
If a consumer visiting the affiliate’s site clicks on a link and goes on to perform a
predetermined action (usually a purchase) on a merchant’s site then the affiliate
receives a commission. For example, Amazon.co.uk offers an affiliate scheme
allowing affiliates to advertise products on their sites. If visitors to the affiliate sites
then click through and make a purchase, the affiliate receives a percentage of
the revenue.
Episode starts
On mobile affiliate advertising principles are, as with most mobile advertising,
exactly the same as on standard internet. The differences are in the delivery and
presentation of the content that we have already talked about when discussing
mobile sites.
18

21. Mobile internet advertising -
what is available now?
There is one very large consideration with regard to mobile commerce (mcommerce):
trust. While a lot of the legwork has been done by reassurance through internet
commerce, trust will be an issue for mcommerce initially. Ensure the same
reassurances are carried across to your mobile sites with clear messaging and
transparency over transactions.
Example: Want it? Buy it. Wherever you are.
mShopper is an affiliate that offers a comprehensive, universal mobile shopping
tool. Like standard internet affiliate websites, mShopper works by partnering with
merchants (usually online shops like Buy.com).
By presenting products from multiple merchants, it allows users to search and
compare products and prices from a broad range of different locations. From power
tools to luxury handbags, mShopper lets people act on their buying impulse, any
time, anywhere.
This has obvious benefits. If a person is out shopping and want’s to ensure they
are getting the best deal, they can simply check on their phone in store rather than
waiting to get home to check on the internet or traipsing around high streets.
As highlighted above, reassurance is required for mobile ecommerce and mShopper
has jumped at the opportunities provided by the single mobile device. Customer
service is geared up for mobile users by offering call centre support.
For advertisers, mShopper also offers a blend of opportunities including banners,
text ads, text messages, and direct response tools including click-to-call and
click-to-buy.
The site also offers banner advertising and a range of other marketing tools for
merchants to raise the profile of their products.
For more information and to see mShopper in action, visit: www.mshopper.net
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 19

22. Mobile internet advertising –
what is available now?
Client applications
Client applications are, in the simplest terms, small programmes that can be
downloaded on to mobile phones. Once downloaded, the applications carryout
a specific task and some of these will connect to the internet each time they are
accessed to download dynamic content, allowing for dynamic advertising too.
The need for applications is purely for speed and accessibility. It’s far quicker
and cheaper for a mobile internet user to download an application once than to
download it each time they go onto a website. Complicated tools on websites can
also crash mobile web browsers if they are old versions.
Example: Google Maps Mobile
A good example is Google Maps Mobile (http://www.google.co.uk/gmm/).
Although standard Google Maps is built into a website, it is still an application
that downloads quickly and seamlessly within your web browser. On computers,
broadband connections are so fast that downloading and running applications
within a web page isn’t an issue. However, on mobile connection speed for large
files is much slower. By presenting a single download for Google Maps Mobile to
be saved on the phone, this reduces the issue.
Once downloaded, Google Maps Mobile connects to the internet to load the latest
map images. In the same way as standard Google Maps, it’s possible to advertise
addresses based on location. For instance, someone could type in ‘florist Leeds’
and the application will show the locations and details of all florists in the city.
20

23. Mobile internet advertising -
what is available now?
Idle screen and in-game ads
As well as the above discussed areas of advertising, mobile handsets allow for a
number of different ways to interact, resulting in new ways to advertise!
When a mobile isn’t being used an ‘idle screen’ appears equivalent to a screensaver
on a computer. It’s possible for this to be used for idle screen advertising. By
downloading an application onto a phone, the ads can be loaded when the phone
isn’t being used. This isn’t intrusive because the user opts in to receive the ads and
because the ads themselves don’t interrupt the experience. In return, the user can
receive free or discounted services.
Mobiles are now often capable of downloading and running games, bringing with
them the ability for in-game advertising. These can range from simple graphical
card games, through to fully rendered 3D worlds for golf, racing or adventure
games (to name but a few). These work in very much the same way as computer
or console games.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 21

24. Mobile advertising
standards
Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) mobile ad guidelines
The range of handsets on the market has meant advertisers need to
supply multiple versions of their ads. This has acted as a deterrent
to mobile advertising adoption.
The five UK networks are quoted saying:
To simplify the process, the Mobile Marketing Association has
“We all believe that these created mobile advertising guidelines specifically for the EMEA
recommendations for region, to make it easier for marketers to develop mobile advertising
inventory size and aspect campaigns and protect the consumer experience while ensuring
ratio, and future additions, the campaigns are delivered consistently on the majority of mobile
will become the common handsets.
formats.”
The guidelines cover banner ads, recommended aspect ratios and banner
dimensions, maximum file size, file formats and other technical specifications.
The MMA plans future releases which will cover SMS, MMS, downloadables,
messaging, video/TV and Bluetooth.
Dimensions and aspect ratios
The recommended aspect ratios for banner ads are 6:1 (default) and 4:1 (extended)
because:
• Having two aspect ratios provides flexibility of layout and positioning in different
contexts.
• 6:1 is the default recommendation that every publisher should be able to
22

25. Mobile advertising standards
deliver.
• 4:1 is the extended size for optional use in campaigns for those who have the
possibility to offer bigger ad formats within their sites.
• Keeping the aspect ratio constant simplifies resizing of images and reduces effort.
• Both are sufficiently large to provide an effective advertising experience, yet small
enough not to be intrusive. The MMA mobile advertising
guidelines are available in full here:
Given the above aspect ratios it should not be necessary to give overall dimensions http://www.mmaglobal.com/
as well since ads can be resized dynamically by some serving technologies. However, emeamobileadvertising.pdf
to allow for those that cannot and to aid with design the recommend widths are 120,
168, 216 and 300 pixels.
What is meant by this is that the creative treatment should probably vary with the broad
ranges of screensizes. What works on a PDA will not look good on an older phone
and four distinct clusters of screen size are apparent. This has several benefits:
• By keeping the banner widths to four sizes limits the effort of creative production.
• The widths chosen provide a good fit for the majority of mobile phones, while still
ensuring a minimal amount of “white space” is left on the browser to delineate the
banner as an advertisement.
• The widths chosen provide for an exact pixel height for both ratios defined, which
simplifies scaling of the creative.
Ad Size Sample Creative (approximate size)
300 px wide
216 px wide
168 px wide
120 px wide
Text only link Jaguar XF
File sizes and types
The maximum file size for the largest static banner ad has been set at 5 KB. There
is no common practice so far for animated banners. However, it is recognised that
animated banners will require larger file sizes than static banners and these are being
discussed presently.
File types supported are JPEGs and GIFs, whilst some top-end phones
support PNGs and some legacy phones still use WBMPs.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 23

26. Mobile Marketing
On top of the previously discussed mobile internet advertising
tools, mobile marketing offers other powerful marketing tools
mentioned in this section.
“A major potential use for Text (SMS) and picture messaging (MMS)
mobile phones is as an
electronic wallet to pay for SMS is currently the most commonly used format for mobile marketing, accounting
for 72% of spend in 2005 across Western Europe2. Whilst it can create a very
goods and services.”
personal experience between advertisers and consumers, the creative and
character limitations mean that its use is likely to decline as other formats like
MMS and mobile internet take off. By the end of the decade, MMS will be the
most prevalent format, taking 48% of the market, whilst the share devoted to
SMS will decline to just 23%2.
Like email marketing, SMS and MMS advertising is hindered by the need for users
to opt-in to receive communications. Mobile users often see push advertising as
an intrusion; network operators and advertisers need to be careful not to alienate
consumers. However, once advertisers have built an opt-in database, they can
communicate with consumers using MMS in a highly targeted manner.
Shortcode and bluetooth
Shortcode can be used to solicit interest from consumers across other media. The
5 digit numbers can be included in TV, press and outdoor campaigns, encouraging
consumers to text for further information. This can either be delivered directly, in
the form of an SMS or MMS, or they can be sent a link to a mobile website.
Bluetooth has become a popular way for consumers to transfer content face to
face, between handsets. Bluetooth hotspots can be used to deliver video-clip
style content on behalf of advertisers. Price and execution issues have made it a
24

27. Mobile Marketing
complicated addition to media plans, but as prices fall and permanent networks of
Bluetooth hotspots are established, it should become far more effective.
Example – HSBC using Bluetooth marketing
HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, has been trialling a new kind of location
based advertising in London recently.
If you are walking down Regent Street and you pass an HSBC branch office, you
may receive a video ad directly onto your phone, promoting some of their banking
products. The ad provides some brief information about the products, and then invites
you to either send a SMS to get a call-back, or to simply walk into the branch.
The bank has installed bluetooth transmitters at two of its busiest branches, Canary
Wharf and Regents Street. As people walk by on the street outside, the box scans
to see if bluetooth is activated on their phone. If so, it sends an un-solicited message
asking if you would like to receive a free download from the bank. If they accept, they
receive a small video file over bluetooth.
If the passerby refuses, then no video file is sent. And the system is smart enough to
keep track of which phone numbers it has sent messages to, so the same person
doesn’t receive the invitation more than once. (source: MobiAdNews.com 2007)
Mobile TV
As well as video and TV on demand delivered through the internet on a mobile phone,
some mobiles – particularly in other countries like the US and Japan – allow for a TV
signal to be received.
This is a standard TV signal and television programming with the regular advertising
attached. In the UK this technology hasn’t taken off yet, but it potentially could be
launched in the near future.
It’s worth bearing in mind because consumers could be watching mobile video using
a number of different methods, all of which are entirely separate from one another.
Mobile commerce
A major potential use for mobile phones is as an electronic wallet to pay for goods
and services. A number of methods of doing this are beginning to emerge such as
using visual barcodes on the screen of the mobile to be scanned in shops, through
to paying by text with the cost being added to your phone bill.
Another new technology is called PayForIt. It is a method of linking websites to your
mobile phone allowing to pay for items such as train tickets, music and ringtones
(maximum of £10) on mobile commerce sites at a click. There is no need to use credit
cards because everything is done through the phone bill. It has strong levels of security
to ensure consumers are completely protected. “Payforit allows the same click-to-
buy user experience offered on-portal but from any WAP page.” MobileIndustry.biz.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 25

28. Challenges
and barriers
No emerging medium is without its barriers to growth, and hurdles
that must be overcome by the industry in order for it to be welcomed
as a marketing channel by advertisers and consumers alike. We
• Awareness of mobile internet
have summarised these challenges as:
• Cost of mobile internet
• Lack of functionality Awareness of mobile internet
• Accessing user data
One of the greatest barriers to mobile internet usage is consumer awareness: only
• Caution
44% of mobile users are aware they can access the internet on their handsets
• Industry experience
(source: Ofcom). This situation will change rapidly as mobile operators promote
• Targeting the arrival of the mobile internet with advertising campaigns to their customers.
• Advertisers
• Agencies Subscribers’ awareness of the features of their mobiles:
Awareness and use of mobile phone features, June 2007
50%
Percentage of mobile users 15+
44%
40% Aware
35% 32%
29% 27% mobile has
30% capability
20%
10%
10%
0%
Internet Email Download Download Instant Watch TV
access access and view and listen Messenger
video clips to music
Source: Ofcom research
26

29. Challenges and barriers
Cost of mobile internet
Cost has been an impediment to growth of mobile internet but in the last twelve
months the mobile networks have introduced flat-rate tariffs, though mainly for
contract customers. Over time, subscribers will migrate to these new tariffs as their
existing contracts come to an end.
Data charging:
Network Monthly Charge Data Bundle
O2 £7.50 Unlimited*
Orange £8 Unlimited*
Three £5 Unlimited*
T-Mobile £7.50 Unlimited*
Vodafone £7.50 120MB
* Subject to fair usage policy
Lack of functionality
Technology is not holding back the growth of mobile internet usage. Today’s
handsets are mobile internet ready, shipped with XHTML functionality which allows
for website browsing. However, usability has been cited as a potential barrier to
consumer acceptance of mobile internet and whilst the technology is here, we know
from years of internet study that usability and a pleasant surfing experience must be
at the fore.
WAP ready handsets: Mobile handset sales with XHTML
Handsets are more complicated than PCs because of the multitude of makes,
models, operating systems and screen sizes; just the popular Sony Ericsson K800i
has gone through over ten changes to its operating system generating a different
User Agent Profile each time. Some allow for both portrait and landscape displays
at the flick of a switch, making designing for mobile web more challenging than for
the PC.
Advanced mobile marketing and advertising agencies use software which can
identify each handset type and render content for optimal viewing quality, as well as Penetration vs complexity,
hiding functionality that one particular handset might not support or offering content of handsets: Penetration vs
for download in different file types. complexity of handsets:
As the chart below shows, penetration of the top-end phones is significantly lower than
mainstream devices (source: data from Incentivated’s WAP servers/phone models are illustrative).
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 27

30. Challenges and barriers
Handset distribution
The three most popular handsets in the five main markets of the EU are the Nokia
6230i, Nokia N70 and Motorola RAZR. All three offer internet access, and are
used by an estimated 16m people in these five countries.
(source: M:Metrics and Incentivated)
Top 10 handsets in UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy:
Handset EU Share
Nokia 6230i 1.8%
Nokia N70 1.7%
Motorola RAZR 1.5%
Sony Ericsson K800i 1.1%
Nokia 6230 1.0%
Sony Ericsson K750i 1.1%
Nokia 6630 0.9%
Sony Ericsson W810i 0.9%
Nokia 6280 0.9%
Nokia 3310 0.9%
Manufacturers’ global market shares:
Manufacturer 2005 Units (m) 2006 Units (m)
Nokia 265 355
Motorola 146 208
Samsung 103 108
Sony Ericsson 52 75
LG 55 65
Siemens/BenQ 40 32
Blackberry 4 8
Others 168 136
28

31. Challenges and barriers
Access to user data
There is currently no information on user behavioural patterns for mobile internet;
no information on which mobile sites are used by which users. While young men
can be reached, figures discussed earlier in the report show that other groups
aren’t using it in as large numbers.
No common information is reported by sites on who their users are, how they
browse, etc. This creates a fundamental barrier to many companies that simply can’t
create a business case without this kind of information. The situation is improving
gradually, but there is still a lot more that publishers and the mobile operators can
do to provide the tools necessary for advertisers to invest in mobile.
Industry experience
Mobile internet advertising at the moment has developed into a number of silos
whereby a small number of companies with good experience and understanding
do exist in certain areas. However, there are very few people or companies that
can work effectively across all the areas of mobile internet advertising that we
discussed earlier:
• SMS/MMS messaging ads
• Search
• Display, e.g. banners
• Video e.g. pre/post roll
• Proximity/Bluetooth
There are lots of companies in the market who approach brands and agencies with
good ideas for mobile advertising, but many of them haven’t really launched yet,
and it’s hard for the agencies to know which ones will be around in a year’s time.
Targeting
Most campaigns require some level of targeting, but it is hard to support that in
mobile, even age/gender/city information can be hard to get at the moment.
The audience itself, while growing, is too small for multilevel targeting so it is best
to keep targeting at a broad level.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 29

32. Challenges and barriers
Advertisers
To begin with, advertisers themselves tend to have minimal to no experience
working with mobile campaigns – so they have nothing to measure against. It
is unlikely that companies are well equipped with the knowledge or resources to
make a business case for a mobile campaign, let alone to initiate one.
One of the biggest problems however, is that brands haven’t even begun to
experiment with mobile, and so there is a total lack of mobile assets like mobile
sites. Subsequently there is no understanding of the impact of mobile, resulting in
a lack of will to try it.
All of this is something that can easily be rectified by taking experimental baby
steps into mobile.
Internet advertising agencies
Internet advertising agencies, in general, don’t yet have the resources to deal
with mobile either; without brands investing in the medium, it is difficult to justify
the additional cost. Again, there is often a lack of technical knowledge and
experience particularly over an understanding of what mobile advertising options
are available.
These issues cause further problems as many agencies simply don’t know what
it takes to make a mobile site or how to achieve campaign objectives on mobile.
This situation is being rectified as advertiser interest picks up and agencies begin
investing resource to mobile.
30

33. Challenges and barriers
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 31

34. Case study: Royal Navy –
Get The Message
An excellent example of the creative use of mobile advertising
and cross media integration is the Royal Navy’s ‘get the message’
campaign - www.getthemessage.net. – created by the agency Glue.
The campaign’s aim was to raise awareness of the variety of different careers
possible in the Navy and to change people’s perceptions of the organisation. To do
this, the campaign drove people to the site using offline advertising and traditional
online advertising through web banners and search. Once on the site, users are
able to send customised video messages by email and mobile.
By entering a short message and a friend’s mobile number on the site, a message
is sent to the friend’s mobile allowing them to download the video clip in a matter
of seconds. The clip then plays for roughly 30 seconds with a real member of the
Navy presenting the typed message live during the video.
Not only does it all work and function extremely well, it is simply a great example of
mobile creativity at its finest.
32

35. Case study: Citroën
Objective
The objective of the campaign was to raise awareness of the Citroén brand and
to strengthen brand identity to those who may not consider it when purchasing a
new car. Citroén also wanted to highlight the many motoring innovations they have
introduced to the market since 1919.
Of secondary importance was the requirement to fulfil the following:
• Video downloads
• ‘Find my nearest’ dealer
• Brochure ordering
• Email data-capture
Parties Involved
The branding was conceived by Pexton Searle, Euro RSCG was responsible for
the creative, OMD UK bought the ads from Screen Tonic (Orange and Mippin), 4th
Screen (O2), Yahoo! (Vodafone) and Unanimis (various off-portal sites).
Incentivated built and hosted the mobile internet site and produced the WAP
banner ads.
Solution
A mobile banner advertising campaign ran on three of the UK’s major operator
portals and various off-portal WAP sites. The ads linked to a dedicated mobile
internet site, from where browsers could view a history of the Citroén brand, order a
brochure, locate their nearest Citroén dealer download video clips. Users of the site
could also submit their email address to subscribe to the Citroén e-newsletter.
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 33

36. Our survey says:
is mobile ready?
In November 2007 the IAB ran a small survey of its membership
– an authoritative and knowledgeable voice in internet advertising
“Mobile is the future way the – to find out if the internet advertising industry is ready to step
internet will be surfed.” into mobile.
41 companies responded from a mix of agencies, advertisers, publishers and
other industry organisations as detailed in the below table:
Answer Count %
Agency 21 51.22%
Advertiser 6 14.63%
Publisher/Media Owner 10 24.39%
Other 4 9.76%
TOTAL 41 100%
34

37. Our survey says: is mobile ready?
The aim was to learn more about the opinions on mobile advertising from those
working in the internet advertising industry. The questions asked were:
1. If/when do you see mobile advertising becoming a mainstream medium?
2. For what reasons do you think mobile would be successful as an advertising
medium?
3. What is the one determining factor that would encourage you/advertisers to
begin testing mobile advertising?
4. Do you view mobile and internet advertising as being connected or entirely
different mediums?
Chart showing when respondents felt
5. What are the main barriers to growth for mobile internet advertising?
% of 3G subscribers using their mobile phones to carry out the following...
mobile advertising would become a
6. What role should mobile phone operators play in mobile internet advertising? mainstream medium
2008 - 8
2009 - 11
Once or more
in a month
1. If/when do you see mobile advertising becoming a
mainstream medium? Never - 3
As stated in the introduction, commentators seem very keen to pinpoint exactly 2011 - beyond - 3
when a medium or format will really take off. We asked our panel of experts if, and Other - 2
when they thought this would be the case for mobile internet advertising. 2010 - 14
Our respondents were mixed in terms of when they thought mobile advertising
would hit the mainstream with the majority opting for between 2008 – 2010 with
one agency saying mobile advertising “Will seriously start in 2008 but [will not be]
Source: M:Metrics, Survey of mobile subscribers in UK
mainstream before 2010”. Data based on 3 month moving average for period ending 31st August 2007
Advertisers in particular were cautious:
“I’m really undecided about mobile, it is clearly a huge opportunity to have
brands in people’s pockets but the intrusive nature of pushing messages into a
highly personal space is a major barrier. This is not helped by the fact that many
of the networks seem to be establishing very traditional media models to their
offering with a clear focus on selling space for push communications.”
“I believe that mobile ads will have to be permissioned or requested if they
are ever to take off (due to the personal nature of a mobile phone). At present
mobile technology doesn’t support an ad that is good enough that anyone
would want to see.”
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 35

38. Our survey says:
is mobile ready?
2. For what reasons do you think mobile would be
successful as an advertising medium?
• Personal and intimate – unique to
the individual, creates a one-to-one
marketing relationship The majority of our panel listed similar reasons for the potential success of mobile
advertising which can be summarised in order of popularity to the left.
• Response – built in and easy to use
response mechanisms (call, text,
email, interact) Some were unsure about the future success of mobile advertising with one
person stating “… it is too invasive”.
• Engagement and relevance
• Location - always with the user However, the majority of responses had very specific factors in mind for mobile’s
• Immediate success such as “The personal / high emotional connection between user and
vehicle is both the advantage but also the challenge.” And “I take three things
• Targeted and timely – you can
out the door in the morning - keys, wallet and phone.”
reach who you want, when you
want, where you want
Quite dramatically, one respondent believed that mobile is “the future way the
internet will be surfed”.
3. What is the one determining factor that would
encourage you/advertisers to begin testing mobile
advertising?
• Consumer demand / volume This question provoked a wide range of very specific answers, which have
• Cost - including risk-free been collated under the headings to the left in no particular order. However, the
advertising predominant requirement was for more evidence in the success and effectiveness
• Proven results and ROI of the medium.
• Measurability – using unified
numbers across portals One individual felt consistency for measurability was the key to increase transparency
• Market research and case studies for the medium: “As mentioned at the IAB’s Engage 2007 conference, there has
• Guidelines - for publishers and to be consistent and comparable measurability for mobile. At present there are
advertisers agreed standards for this but data owners need to open this up to independent
• Targeting testing and scrutiny to build trust and confidence in the medium.”
• Higher speeds (over 2MB)
Again, echoing the need for more reassurance in the medium was the following
• Nothing at this stage – too soon response: “Information. Case studies and knowledge of the universe and what
is possible within it. Still seems intrusive and irrelevant and for a small minority
which I’m sure is not true but it’s tricky to understand how we make it work for
clients who are cautious and believe their brand is ‘safer’ elsewhere where they
know how to measure it.”
36

39. Our survey says: is mobile ready?
4. Do you view mobile and internet advertising as being Chart showing how many respondents
felt mobile internet and traditional
connected or entirely different mediums? internet advertising is connected
Over half of the people that answered thought mobile and internet advertising were
Both, 5
connected, while 11 people felt it was either different or entirely different. 5 people
felt they were both different and connected for the same reason.
One respondent firmly placed the emphasis on the consumer: “Absolutely connected.
Should be fully integrated and viewed from the consumer’s perspective. Should Different, 11 Connected, 20
be integrated offline too.”
5. What are the main barriers to growth for mobile
internet advertising?
• Knowledge – of what’s available
Answers to this question were quite widespread and have been separated into the and possible
categories on the right. Most people only included one or two of these categories • Size of audience advertising
in their answer. • Belief in the medium
Like question 3, it was measurement, research, audience and reassurance in the • Research
medium that were seen as the main barriers by the majority of respondents. Exact • Formats
parallels can be drawn with the state traditional internet advertising was in a few • Current targeting capabilities
years ago. With more research and focus on the medium we are confident these • Technology – usability, screen size
barriers can be rectified. and functionality
• Price for consumers
• User experience - faster mobile
6. What role should mobile phone operators play in internet speeds
mobile internet advertising? • Creativity
• Opt-in is sometimes required
Again, there were very specific answers to this question with a real mix of categories.
Some people felt operators should have no role in mobile internet advertising, some
felt they should play a supportive role, while others felt they should take the lead.
• Data sharing – offering reporting data
• Education of the market
• Spam prevention
• Take the lead – play a pivotal role by forming a united front
• Standards
• Opt-out lists
• As media owners, not controllers of the channels
• None
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 37

40. Conclusion
From our perspective at the IAB, looking into the emerging mobile market is
like stepping back in time about five years or so. Around 2002, marketers were
becoming aware that their audiences were flocking online, but they were largely
at a loss when it comes to reaching them. A lack of case studies and insight
into specific audience behaviour, coupled with technical limitations of the medium
“Mobile, arguably, has
were identified as major impediments to the growth of online. The ever-increasing
even more potential for market share of internet advertising is testament to the fact that these challenges
marketers than online did were in no way insurmountable and the online spend continues to buoy that of the
in its infancy.” entire advertising industry.
Mobile, arguably, has even more potential for marketers than online did in its
infancy. The mobile phone is the media equivalent to a swiss army knife for the
twenty-first century: it can do everything besides get a stone from a horse’s hoof
and even that function may appear on fifth generation handsets! The mobile phone
is personal, consumers engage with it everyday, wherever they are – and nearly
everyone has one. It is both practical and entertaining. In short it is the essential
media device for the majority of consumers.
The above benefits may also make mobile advertising a slightly tougher needle
to thread than online. As we have seen throughout this report, issues of getting
consistency of formats across a number of operators, a lack of quality content
currently on mobile internet and the crucial problem of not being intrusive, mean
that despite mobile being very much on the agenda of marketers, there is still a
degree of caution.
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41. The importance of mobile in our daily lives
This report has shown, however, how these issues are being addressed and how
marketers are finding imaginative ways to reach their audience wherever they are,
on their mobile. As with online, there is no rulebook for mobile advertising, it is
uncharted territory for us all. Mistakes will be made and we will learn from them
and it will be the brave marketers who get on board early who will benefit once
mobile marketing reaches the levels of traditional internet advertising of today. The
IAB will be there throughout the exciting journey, and to coin a rather apt phrase,
we are sure that for mobile advertising; “the future’s bright…”
IAB Mobile Advertising: the emerging UK market 39