How to make money out of the internet has almost been its main problem since it started. Getting people to visit and use sites is one thing , ' monetising ' them can often be quite different , as You Tube and Twitter are currently showing.
Google ( inevitably ) really cracked online advertising with pay per click ads and really allowed sites to make money in very specific ways.
The mobile internet is still very much in its infancy and its development is still a bit of a chicken and egg situation ( for want of a better cliche ) in terms of devices and availability. What is also developing is how to put advertising on sites in an effective , yet unobtrusive way.
Really good article in Business Week has a case study of Pandora , an online music store that allows people to choose and stream their own radio stations.
What is really interesting is that companies are trying different approaches to customers , depending on their products , i.e Domino's run an ad urging people to call for a pizza from their phone , Dockers offer a twenty percent discount if you enter the word Pandora as a promotional code on their site.Kraft uses an iFood Assistant with recipe tips and Nike has a training club with workout suggestions.
Companies are really being challenged to find ways of relating to potential customers that are useful. That's nothing new in advertising .
What is quite new is that the ways companies use advertising on phones and other devices will have to be very specific and will have to be tailored precisely to how people decide to access the internet , whilst on the move. That's still a whole new ball game.
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