SMS 2.0

People are so gung-ho about the Internet and the miniscule revenues it generates -2.5 Billion INR. Mobile on the other hand is having a phenomenal run in terms of their revenues apart from the core activities. VAS is pegged around 20 Billion INR.

There are about 32 Million Handsets in India that are GPRS/WAP enabled. About 1 Billion Page views happen through the mobile sets. The number of SMSes received for the Indian Idol Final is rumored around 40 Million.

But then, why is mobile advertising not taking off in India?

Is it because of TRAI regulation that you cannot push advertising? Or is it because the service providers feel that there are more monies in VAS for which the customer is willing to pay.

I am not aware of any campaign done through Mobile, in India, that has been effective or a case study spoken about in the industry circle.

At the most Mobile advertising has been stuck to things like Shortcode, SMS (taken from some unrelated database)… and yeah, couple of banner ads on Airtel Live.

I also read an article which mentioned that the mobile advertising will overtake internet advertising in India by 2010. Hmm, I guess not.

My reasons:-

The Mobile service providers are now concentrating on the rural markets – which mean basic telephones, and basic services. Hence the usage and number of connections might increase, but the ARPU will decrease.

Well, main reason is that the people mindset. For me Mobile is very personal, almost like a part of me. I hate when I get SMSs from some stupid marketer offering something I do not want, In fact most of the time I feel angry..

But when on the Internet, I know for sure, that most of the things I access are for free… hence I do not mind a few ads, here and there, as long as the purpose of my browsing is served.

I mean, I know that my Gmail or Hotmail are free services, and as long as I am not paying for it… I have no complaints (to be more honest – I CANNOT complain) on the ads that are served in my inbox.
But when it comes to Mobile – I am paying for each and every service they offer… and hence any thing that I feel intrusive, I would react strongly.

Tip: I guess if the service provider comes out with a program, wherein I can send free SMS upto 75 Characters, and the remaining stuff is used for Advertising… then there would be a line of advertisers wanting to fill in the remaining 75 odd characters … to make it more interesting the program should read the text and place contextual ads…

Say for example, I send a SMS to my friend – Shall we meet up for Lunch? I am at MG Rd 2day aftrn.

A Pizza Hut or some other Restaurant can advertise on the remaining space – Drop in at Pizza Hut, MG Rd, show this msg and get 10% off.


I guess until the mobile service providers and the mobile aggregators come up with something out of the box solutions to reach out in a non-intrusive way to the mobile users… Proper advertising would not be possible on the Mobile… except in terms of paid VAS

Cheers

Santosh

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Indian websites - 2007

Image
Hi, This was an article that appeared in PC World India Nice stuff Santosh ------------------------------------ Technology will dominate the future and the web is clearly one of its greatest manifestations. Forget the dotcom bust that many sceptics will remind you of The Web is going to become our way of life in India . There are enough statistics to point to the rapid growth of the Internet in India – number of connections, e-mail accounts, transaction revenue – all very convincing. But who needs statistics? Just a quick look around will reveal how web is fast replacing traditional brick-n-mortar operations. Be it picking new stocks or new friends, finding a job or a bride, there’s a web way to things that is proving far more effective, and rewarding. Websites today are built with robust understanding of users and available technology. They purposefully pursue fulfilling the needs of their audience but are grounded in strong business reality. And hence, unlike the fairy-tail era gone
Read more

10 Reasons Marketing Strategy should include the Internet

It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should. 1. The Go-To Place for Information Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leadi
Read more

The Disappearance of Gully Cricket: A Reflection on Changing Times

Image
Gully cricket , once an integral part of Indian childhood, is now a fading memory. In the 80’s and early 90s, the streets were more than mere public spaces; they were stages for dreams. A bat, a ball, and a group of eager kids were all that was needed. Stumps were supported by stones, or stones themselves became stumps, or it could be a lamppost, or 3 lines drawn with a piece of brick on a compound wall. If nothing, it would be two hawai chappals that acts as wickets. A twig could be a stand-in for a second bat, and everyone played with a shared spirit. The road in front of anyone's house was open to all—a place where games, conversations, and sometimes even family functions spilled over. The essence of gully cricket was its simplicity and collectiveness. No one really owned anything individually. If one kid had a bat, it became everyone’s bat. The game was not defined by boundaries of ownership or the idea of personal space. Rather, it thrived on the joy of shared resources and ex
Read more