Should iPhone Be The Only Focus For Mobile Advertisers?

In its Mobile Metrics report published for the month of August, AdMob, the world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace, reported that the company served more than 35 million ads on this popular device during the month. The company’s new rich media ad units designed for the iPhone have been live for just over a month and now have a reach of more than 100 million impressions worldwide each month. Ads on the iPhone deliver strong engagement for advertisers with triple, on average, the already high click-through-rates seen on mobile. This speaks volumes about the opportunity that iPhone offers for mobile advertising.

Speaking at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2008, Omar Hamoui, founder and CEO, AdMob, said "The iPhone clearly demonstrates how mobile advertising is evolving to become a rich, interactive environment for advertisers to engage with consumers. Advertisers want to reach this valuable audience of consumers on the iPhone and are looking for a partner with the quality reach, scale and technology necessary to help them take advantage of the unique capabilities and context of this device. We are seeing a real impact across our larger mobile ad network as advertisers discover mobile through the iPhone, run successful campaigns and come back again with even more of their budget."

Speaking about the experience of advertising with AdMob on iPhone, Joao Machado, Associate Media Director, MEC Global said, "Land Rover wanted to reach the valuable audience of consumers on the iPhone and AdMob’s new iPhone-specific ad units allowed us to create a uniquely engaging campaign. AdMob brings the quality reach and built-for-mobile technology that makes it easy for us to connect with our target audience on their iPhones."

Should iPhone be the only focus for mobile advertisers?

However, experts also believe that although, advertisers and marketers are trying to discover how to tap into this new medium to reach new customers, it should not be the only focus for mobile advertisers. The Apple iPhone, which is seen to have revolutionized mobile computing is owned by only a small number of people around the world. Lai Kok Fung, co-founder and chief executive officer of BuzzCity, a developer of global wireless communities and consumer services, believes that mobile advertising is just as effective on smaller, more mainstream “mass market” phones. In an article "IPhone Advertising - Not The Only Game on the Mobile Web", he stated that in spite of the apparent disadvantages to advertising on devices with smaller, more compact displays, it is not the number of advertisements but the effectiveness of the advertisement that matters is especially true with the mobile medium.

He also said that advertising is better or more effective on the iPhone due to its large screen size, in which the ads are displayed properly, the broader group of mobile phone users who use these mass market phones constitutes an outstanding opportunity for advertisers and marketers. Smartphones like the iPhone and its various clones will help the market fulfill the various predictions made for mobile advertising, however, for the foreseeable future the mass market phone will continue to be the dominant method of accessing mobile data services, both in the U.S. and worldwide. Mr. Lai stated that the most compelling argument for targeting the broader "non-smartphone" market is sheer scale.Unlike the iPhone and other smartphones, the mass market phone by far gives advertisers the all-important scale, in term of users. This is something marketers should recognize as a key component to finding success in mobile, and a real opportunity for those who recognize this fact.

"Advertisers and marketers who want to tap the potential of the mobile medium will be well-served to broaden their focus and look beyond just the iPhone and devices like it in order to tap into this new way to target and reach new customers around the world. While the iPhone presents a great opportunity for more dynamic mobile advertising, it is just a slice of the larger pie, " Mr. Lai.