I remember my first ever experience of a mobile phone. It was grey, plastic, about 6ft in length, with an aerial that probably added an extra 3ft to its vital statistics - an aerial you weren't actually supposed to touch because of the radiation risk. The ringtone was an irritating electronic beeping sound, and my calls cost me about 50 pence a minute.
Little did the young Jon Mew know then, that some fifteen years later he'd be employed solely to wax lyrical about the numerous advertising opportunities available within this purely practical piece of tat. In fact, if you had told me then that we'd one day be referring to this sizeable communications tool as a marketing medium in its own right, I would have dismissed your statement as totally misinformed and utterly ridiculous.
But look at us now. An already established and fast-developing industry, mobile advertising is growing at an astonishing rate, much like online did in its early days. Brands are employing it as a key component of their communications plans, the results are great and over the past six months, the majority of my conversations have been about how marketers want to do even more. Mobile offers exceptional cut-through, and the ROI is strong.
In May 2009, we found out for the first time, with help from our partners PricewaterhouseCoopers - just how much the market is worth. For the whole of 2008 mobile advertising expenditure hit £28.6 million, and actually doubled in size from the previous year, bucking the current media industry trends.
This makes now the perfect time to get involved. We know it works, the marketplace is buzzing with excitement about this new channel and the audience is ready, waiting and willing to interact. Now is also a great time for testing the waters, to see how consumers react to your mobile messages so you can learn and enhance your campaigns as the medium becomes mainstream.
Mobile Council boasts some of the best practitioners in the industry, and together we aim to help marketers find the best role for mobile media, to successfully reach and engage their consumers. Through a series of educational initiatives we plan to take mobile advertising out of the 'too daunting' box, and show you just how straightforward, and effective, it can be.
This handbook is a great starting point, and we've covered every stage of the campaign process to make your lives just that little bit easier.
3 G - '3G' is the third generation of telecommunication hardware standards. It offers comprehensive voice and multimedia services to mobile customers by providing very high data rates and functionality such as data streaming. 3G phones are backward compatible and can access all the services that 2 and 2.5G phones can, except that in this case, data can be transferred a lot quicker.
Call to Action (CTA) - A statement or instruction, typically promoted in print, web, TV, radio, on-portal, or other forms of media (often embedded in advertising), that explains to a mobile subscriber how to respond to an opt-in for a particular promotion or mobile initiative.
Click to Call - A service that enables a mobile subscriber to initiate a voice call to a specified phone number by clicking on a link on a mobile internet site. Typically used to enhance and provide a direct response mechanism in an advertisement.
Data tariff - Data tariff are the rates that phone networks charge for accessing 'data'. Consumers typically pay a monthly fee for a 'bundle' of unlimited internet access, although unlimited data packages are on the rise.
GPRS - General Packet Radio Service or '2.5G' is an underlying mechanism for the networks to deliver internet browsing, WAP, email and other such content. The user is 'always connected' and relatively high data rates can be achieved with most modern phones compared to a dial-up modem. Most phones default to using GPRS (if capable).
Global Positioning System (GPS) - A global navigation satellite system that is often used for navigation purposes. Many new phones have built in GPS technology allowing more advanced location based services.
Mobile Network Operator (MNO) - An organisation licensed to offer mobile communications services to its customers. In the UK this includes 3, Orange, T-mobile, Vodafone and O2.
Off-Portal (or off-deck) - Point of sale/access on the mobile network, but outside of the operator's "walled garden"/portal/deck, where consumers can access/purchase information and mobile products/content/utilities.
On-Portal (or on-deck) - Point of sale/access within the operator's "walled garden"/portal/deck, where consumers can access/purchase information and mobile products/ content/utilities.
Text Link - Creative use for mobile advertisements - represented by highlighted and clickable text(s) with a link embedded within the highlighted text. Usually limited to 16-24 characters.
VMNO - Virtual Mobile Network Operator. A company that uses the infrastructure of an existing (licence-owning) telecoms network operator. Tesco, Virgin and Blyk are some of the largest VMNOs in the UK.