Mobile operators step up advertising efforts

Network operators are stepping up efforts to provide large-scale mobile advertising services, taking advantage of advertising agencies’ desire for greater competition to Google and Apple in the fast-growing market.

The potential for mobile advertising has expanded significantly with the rise of smartphones, which offer large screens, constant Internet connections and software applications in which to display marketing messages. The fragmented nature of mobile operators and smartphone platforms in different countries has made the process of buying and delivering mobile advertising very labor-intensive. A group of European mobile operators is exploring the creation of an industry-wide “common advertising platform”, using a standardized set of metrics with which to gauge the success of campaigns. A letter detailing the plan was sent to Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner responsible for Europe’s digital agenda, last year, signed by the chief executives of Vodafone, France Telecom, Telefónica, Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telekom.