Great article in the International Herald and Tribune that basically asks the question , where is all the mobile advertising ? It follows on slightly , in a different context , to the chicken and egg question that the iPhone to Canada issue raises.
The article focus's on the amount of hype that has and does exist around mobile advertising and ask's , where's the beef ? Where is all this great mobile advertising , has anyone seen it ?
Its probably inevitable , given its developing nature that there is a desire to create demand for a service by telling everyone how great the service is and what it can do , and thats probably a good thing. The danger is in creating a high degree of expectation that can't then be delivered and people then either don't believe the industry or get bored with it.
Basically its a matter of trust - people have to believe that there is value in the technology and what it can do, and also know that it can deliver.Getting that balance isn't easy but is certainly do-able - if you look at how Apple ( for want of a better example ! ) used iTunes to roll out its its music and is looking to roll out tv programmes and movies , there is a real example of solution and problem !
The reason Apple can make it work is simply because they own the technology and content . With the mobile internet , that link is split over several different and competing factions : devices , infrastructure , cell networks , internet , content providers , advertisers etc.
Getting all these guys to join up and have some sort of strategic plan may not be possible in an organised practical sense , but will inevitably happen over time , in a market driven sense . probbaly through trade associations etc. One such example is the Mobile Marketing Association , referred to in The IHT article , which I'll look at further in another post tomorrow.
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