Operators need to improve how they market their ad inventory

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 | By Ronan Shields

Mobile advertisers will generally credit 2008 and 2009 as breakthrough years for the industry, based mainly on the success of Apple’s iPhone and the App Store.

It might be a bit premature to say 2010 is the year Google took the reins to driveit further, but it would be fair to say it has come a long way since January, based on increased shipments of Android handsets.

Previously, operator portals were deemed the main outlet for advertisers and media companies to reach a mass mobile audience. However, the ascendancy of the App Store has led to a widely held perception among advertisers that portals are no longer a viable opportunity.

Most planners I meet say mobile operator portals seldom feature near the top of their media plans these days. They’re more likely to book in-app ad space or ads on a mobile-optimised site.

The reasons why mobile operator portals failed to become the mass-market media channels they were expected to have been discussed at length over the years. Collectively, they were guilty of demanding too high a revenue share from both advertisers and developers.

Now the lion’s share of mobile ad revenues is up for the likes of Apple and Google to grab with both hands. And the fact both parties collectively spent more than $1bn to purchase mobile ad networks in the last year demonstrates this is exactly what they intend to do.    

However, this isn’t to say mobile operators have given up making themselves a viable channel for advertisers. O2 and Orange have invested in SMS messaging platforms that offer more reach than single platform app stores (nma.co.uk 3 December 2009), but neither is generating much buzz among advertisers.

Operators know they now have to significantly change how they promote themselves to advertisers with the intensified competition from the likes of Google. However, from what I hear, it’ll require a major turnaround in their approach if they’re to make a significant impact.

I, for one, will be keeping an eye on 3’s attempts to do so. As the UK’s smallest mobile operator, it has traditionally positioned itself as a disruptive element that does things a little bit differently from the rest. So let’s see what the results will be.

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