For the third and final blog, I found an article that
explains the current use of mobile advertising, and its lagging success
rate. The article describes how
theoretically the idea of mobile ads sounds prosperous and effective, since it
is a rare occasion that one is without their smartphone. However, the two forms of mobile ads are
proving to be nothing more than a nuisance.
These forms include the tiny banner display advertisement and the
interrupting pop-up advertisement. The
article shows the difference between mobile advertisement and more traditional
ads by explaining, “it’s
disruptive, and not in the positive way that business gurus breathlessly use
the word”(businessweek.com). The
negative connotation of disruptive that is attached to mobile ads describes how
this form of advertisement is unwanted, compared to television ads when it is
bearable to sit through, since the television program is highly desired.
This
article caught my attention, because I have had encounters with these forms of
ads. The increase in number of
smartphones being used has led to a new medium for advertisers to get their
message across. I think that the idea to
utilize smartphones for promotion is innovative, yet the results have proven to
be ineffective, which I believe is due to the lack of thought implemented from
the advertising standpoint.
For
some companies, such as Facebook, mobile ads have actually been positively
received. This benefit is mainly due to
the fact that smartphones are the means of access to Facebook for well over
half of its users. The article states, “The
company attributes its recent growth in mobile ads to what is known in the
digital-ad world as “native advertising,” or advertising that’s integrated with
a site’s regular content” (businessweek.com).
Because the advertisements are woven within the site, it does not
disturb the user as much as other advertisements. Although this may be the case for Facebook,
other companies are still struggling to captivate the audience’s attention via
smartphone ads. The picture below shows
the revenue generated by mobile advertisements for various companies over the
years.
From this graph, it is evident that
companies such as Pandora, Twitter, and Facebook are generating the most
revenue since access to these websites is dominantly through the use of
smartphones. Contrastingly, other
companies are lagging behind. Though the
spending on mobile ads is projected to increase over the next few years from $6.4
billion to $23.6 billion by 2016 (businessweek.com), I do not see it having an
effective outcome for companies, unless more thought is put into the strategy
of displaying the mobile ads. In another
article I read, it explains how the mobile advertising network companies are
seeing a loss as well. “…Even in the middle of a gold rush the
cost of providing a mobile ad exchange far exceeds the revenues that can be
gained from it” (businessinsider.com). I find it interesting that despite the loss, the use of mobile
advertising continues. Hopefully,
companies will strategize in order to make their mobile ads effective enough to
generate more revenue. I think that with
research and further development these mobile ads may begin to be successful
for the companies. However, I fear that
most companies may be wasting time and money focusing on mobile advertising and
may be better suited for more traditional forms of promotion.
I am not surprised at all by companies’ decisions to advertise through mobile devices. Walk down just about any street and you will see people with their cell phone glued to their hand. Advertising through cell phones is one of the most direct forms of advertising that can be refreshed hundreds of times a day.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article “Facebook Mobile Ads: What’s Working So Far” advertisers are expected to spend $6.4 billion globally which is a 62% increase from the previous year. This means that more ads are going to be hitting the mobile scene, which raises a little concern.
Fortunately enough I am not an owner of a smart phone for the sole purpose of avoiding having the Internet (especially social media) at my fingertips every second of the day. Although, if I did own one and my phone was bombarded by unwanted ads I would be infuriated. It is not enough that when people travel from Website to Website on computer they are sometimes faced with pop-up advertisements, but now they are following you everywhere people go.
I think people are getting too ahead of themselves and companies are being to overbearing. In my own opinion I would be more resentful to companies whose ads were disrupting my facebook browse or google search. They are simply in the way and definitely not the first thing people want to see when changing sites.
It is evident from this blog that increasing mobile advertisements might not be the best way to go. Companies are spending money on ads that viewers might not even notice because even though screens are getting bigger on phones, they are still not big enough for an ad to grasp attention.
I believe that phone should be used for calling, messaging, and basic Internet necessities. By investing more money into promoting social networking and other services on phones, people are becoming more reliant on technology. They are burying their faces into the screen devoting all of their attention to it. Less time is spent reading the newspaper, enjoying nature as one walks form building to building, and appreciating the company of others.
People are becoming to reliant on cell phones, and companies promoting mobile advertisements are crossing the boundaries into customer privacy as well as spending money on a tactic that might not even be effective, let alone become a nuisance.
http://mashable.com/2012/10/30/facebook-mobile-ads-whats-working/
I think that mobile advertising is going to be the next big thing. As Victoria said everyone has their cell phones glued to their hands. We are the generation of technology. If you think about it all of our knowledge basically comes from it. If it is simply a google search or using your phone as a GPS to get home. Kids and young adults rely on their phones for everything: calls, text, social media, GPS, games, movies... just about anything.
ReplyDeleteI think companies who are starting to get into mobile advertising are smart. If someone wants to tell me something, the best way to get that information out to me is through my phone. Unlike Victoria, I am a proud smartphone owner. Although I do succumb to being a social media addict, if you will, I do find that a lot of the ads inform me of many things I would also be interested in. When I was playing words with friends I saw an add at the top of my screen for “Hanging With Friends” an app that quickly began to be most used on my phone. I will say that yes sometimes these advertisements are annoying, but if I really don’t want them I could pay a dollar or two to upgrade to an app with no advertisements.
I have not not been inconvenienced by mobile ads on websites. I have only seen a couple of them, or I may have not noticed many (possibly why mobile ads haven't been effective). Another type of mobile advertising that I do not like that is not restricted to only smartphone users, text messaging. I probably get a monthly text message from my provider with some sort of new promotion they have going on. Also, I have found that some companies have gotten my cellphone number and send me deals and promotions going on as well. I assume my number was found through data mining or buying information from other companies. I do believe that text messaging is crossing the line when it comes to advertising.
My brother is a business owner of a company who creates and designs apps of smartphones. I asked him what his take on mobile advertising is. In his opinion, it is a multibillion dollar market that only has room to grow. Unfortunately, as of now advertisements do not have good engagement rates, or in simple terms, people who actually interact with the ads intentionally and get them to do something are not high enough. He believes that as of now the only people who can really benefit from advertising on smartphones are companies advertising other mobile apps. The market had not yet developed into an overall advertisement place, but that does not mean it is soon to come. As it says in the BusinessWeek article the amount spent on mobile advertisements are going to almost quadruple. We do not know what the future holds with mobile advertisements, but I think that companies who are innovative will find an appropriate way to really connect with their chosen markets.