Mobile local search ad revenues to reach $1.3B in 2013

Mobile search and display advertising revenues in the U.S. will increase to $3.1 billion in 2013 from $160 million in 2008--a compound annual growth rate of 81.2 percent--according to research, data and strategic analysis firm The Kelsey Group. The forecast adds that during the same five-year period, mobile local search advertising revenues will increase from $20 million to $1.3 billion, a CAGR of 130.5 percent, as the percentage of mobile searches with local intent grows from 28 percent in 2008 to 35 percent in 2013. A key driver behind the increase: Apple's iPhone. The report states approximately 15 percent of all iPhone applications are local.
The Kelsey Group report notes that at present, there are 54.5 million mobile web users in the U.S., representing roughly 25 percent of total online users. "As mobile data consumption rises, we expect local marketing to be a big winner," said Kelsey Group's Mobile Local Media program director Michael Boland in a prepared statement. "There is a strong correlation between local search and the mobile use case, which will cause a good portion of the ongoing mobile application boom to focus on local."

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OMD mandates third-party verification for mobile ads

Advertising agency Omnicom Group's OMD unit is instructing mobile content publishers to obtain third-party verification for their mobile display ad campaigns in an effort to enable more consistent reporting between the wired web and its mobile counterpart, effectively minimizing potential discrepancies and in turn saving money for both advertisers and publishers. According to ClickZ, the OMD policy change means mobile ads must now run through a server like DoubleClick DART, DFA, Atlas or Eyeblaster--this method of third-party ad serving offers agencies precise reporting on which creative within the campaign was served, enabling a greater depth of optimization and consumer targeting as the campaign goes on.
ClickZ adds that the other ad-serving method used by a number of mobile ad networks is known as server side included, or SSI, in which ad delivery is handled by the ad network and pinged back to the third-party ad server. With SSI, the agency does not receive specific information on what creative ran, only that the publisher served an ad. "We went through the same situation on the agency side for PC-based advertising," said mobile ad firm JumpTap's CMO Paran Johar in an interview with ClickZ. "I think this is a great testament to the success of mobile advertising. [OMD] are throwing down the gauntlet that they are requiring ad networks and publishers to account for publisher data."

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Juniper Research forecasts mobile music revenue increase

Mobile music services are set to generate considerable revenues for operators over the next few years, a new report has said.According to Juniper Research, the money made from the industry is likely to rise to about $14.6 billion (£10.1 billion) by 2013.This, it stated, will help to offset the recent decline in the number of consumers paying for ringtones for their mobile devices.Juniper said the popularity of products such as full-track downloads is being driven by the growing sophistication of people's handsets.For instance, the iPhone was named as one of the main triggers of the rising interest in downloading full songs.Dr Windsor Holden of Juniper Research commented: "The combination of a handset with a wonderful UI and music player and an easily accessible, user-friendly music store is irresistible."This comes after Alex Moukas of Velti noted that the current generation of mobile phone users are now able to tailor their devices so they bring an "unparalleled" level of context and relevance to their lives.

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Restaurant attracts consumers via SMS

A US-based restaurateur is sending text messages to consumers in an attempt to boost business.Jay Grossman, owner of Four Food Studio in Long Island, has given diners the opportunity to leave their contact details in the event they want to be contacted about future offers and deals.This has enabled him to carry out a mobile marketing campaign, communicating upcoming events and discounts to potential visitors affordably and instantaneously.Furthermore, people who sign up to receive SMS messages from the restaurant put themselves in line to win prizes such as a free meal.Mr Grossman commented: "I think it's certainly the method of the moment."We're in the world of cell phones."Speaking to Newsday, he added that mobile marketing is much cheaper and more effective than direct mail and print advertising.The comments come after analysts at Research and Marketing said mobile technology allows advertisers to pinpoint their target audience and market accordingly. According to the organisation, this level of accuracy is not possible to achieve with other media.

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PwC - Smartphone is becoming a major advertising outlet

Smartphones are likely to be one of the main outlets for advertisers over the next few years, according to industry analysts.PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) believes that many people are cutting back on discretionary expenses during the economic downturn, with consumers sacrificing purchases such as holidays and eating out.However, the organisation said this does not extend to people's mobile phones, as they are now ubiquitous and becoming increasingly dominant.As a result, PwC believes marketers could exploit their growth and disseminate advertisements through handsets.Dr David Jacobson, director of emerging technology at PwC, commented: "The intimate nature of the smartphone is being recognised as a powerful mechanism for capturing the intentions of the specific user who has made known his/her interests and preferences."He added that advertisers may wish to reconsider where they are putting their ad spend and embrace the smartphone sector more heavily.According to figures from the GSMA, more than four billion consumers across the world now use mobile devices.

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Parents depend on text messages to speak to children

Mothers in the UK are increasingly relying on their mobile phones to stay in touch with their children, new research has found.According to women's car insurance provider Sheila's Wheels, many mums do not feel they are able to spend enough time with their offspring.As a result, some are opting to use SMS messaging as a means of staying in regular contact.Figures showed that 23 per cent of mothers frequently text their children in order to keep in touch. Jacky Brown, spokesperson for the insurance firm, commented: "As long hours at work and busy social lives are the becoming norm, grappling for extra time to spend with the kids is increasingly common."The study found that many parents like to offer lifts to their children so they can at least spend some together inside the car.This comes after a separate study by Envirofone.com found that 35 per cent of Britons would use SMS messaging technology when asking someone out for the first time.

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IAB - Mobile marketing thrives in Canada

Revenues from Canada's mobile marketing sector more than doubled in size during the year before last, according to a new report.Research by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) showed that the industry generated $2.7 million in 2007- up from $1.1 million a year earlier.The organisation believes a similar increase took place in 2008, as estimates suggest revenues reached $5.2 million last year.Peter Vaz, vice president of the IAB's emerging platforms council, said the figures demonstrate the growing stature of mobile marketing in the wider advertising sector.He commented: "Mobile marketing is poised to move from one-off experimental campaigns to becoming an important part of the overall interactive marketing mix."Mr Vaz added that the nature of the content on offer will move beyond SMS messages into more sophisticated application-based campaigns, using mobile content and video.This comes after the Mobile Marketing Association predicted that mobile phones will account for a "significant" amount of overall advertising spending in the next five years.

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Text messaging 'boosting literacy standards'

The popularity of text messaging is not having a negative effect on young people's literacy skills, according to academics.A study at Coventry University showed that using SMS technology could in fact be having a positive impact on their grasp of reading, vocabulary and phonology.The research, which was published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, concluded that concerns over "text speak" among education professionals could be unwarranted.Dr Beverley Plester, one of the researchers behind the study, commented: "The alarm in the media is based on selected anecdotes but actually when we look for examples of text speak in essays we don't seem to find very many."Speaking to BBC News, she added that when children have more exposure to the written word via media such as text messages, they actually become more literate.However, a recent study by Teachers TV found that nearly two-thirds of teachers are letting pupils use text abbreviations and slang such as "gr8" and "l8" in coursework and essays.

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Tasmanian courts send text reminders to witnesses

Court defendants in Tasmania will soon be alerted to upcoming appearances via their mobile phones.Authorities in the state hope that sending text message reminders will lead to few cases being adjourned, thereby reducing the burden for magistrates, police and clerical staff.Lara Giddings, attorney general, said about one in five court adjournments are down to the defendant not turning up.She commented: "The old adage that justice delayed is justice denied reinforces the need for people on bail to adhere to court orders to attend on the day set down by a magistrate."Ms Giddings added that about eight in ten Australians aged over 14 own a mobile phone.Therefore, text message alerts can be an "unobtrusive" way of reminding people on bail of their commitments.According to the GSMA, more than four billion consumers across the world now use mobile devices.

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Text messages help tackle truancy

SMS messaging technology is being used by a British college to tackle the problem of truancy among students.Hampshire-based Crestwood College had been finding the number of unauthorised absences a growing concern, especially as staff were having to spend time chasing up parents on the phone.However, a new text messaging system which enables mums and dads to be contacted automatically when their child does not arrive for school has been introduced.This has had the consequence of cutting the absence rate and freeing up time that staff previously spent ringing up parents.Theresa Holman, attendance officer at the college, commented: "Because text messaging is instant, it has cut down the time I used to spend making phone calls and delivers better results."Education provider Groupcall recently revealed that this technology proved to be highly useful during this month's snowfall.Parents were able to be told that schools would be remaining closed amid the adverse winter conditions.

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Kelsey Group forecasts growth in US mobile advertising revenues

Mobile advertising revenues in the US could exceed $3 billion by 2013, according to new estimates.According to The Kelsey Group, this would represent a compound annual increase of 81.2 per cent over the next four years.Neal Polachek, chief executive officer of the organsiation, commented: "The trend lines for usage, revenue and application development indicate a turning point that compels us to devote more resources and deepen our coverage of this market segment."He added that mobile devices are likely to be an important development that transforms the advertising industry.Indeed, figures from The Kelsey Group show that 54.5 million people in the US use mobile internet, which accounts for a quarter of all web users in the country.This echoes a recent report from the Internet Advertising Bureau, which predicted a similar increase in the mobile marketing sector in Canada.

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Melita selects LogNet Billing for launch of mobile services

LogNet Billing, a global provider of Customer Care and Billing (CC&B) solutions for multiple-play communications and utilities service providers, today announced that the company has extended its relationship with Melita - Malta's first quadruple play service provider to offer full integration between four telecommunication and home entertainment services: television, Internet, fixed line telephony and mobile.
Melita has been using LogNet Billing's MaxBill CC&B product suite since 2006 and has successively extended its service offering to now include mobile services. Melita's recently launched mobile service includes nationwide coverage, international roaming services and numerous value added services through a range of prepaid and postpaid plans.
"LogNet Billing's natural ability to support multiple service operations has significantly contributed to achieving our strategic objective of evolving into a major quadruple play service provider," said Stephen Wright, Chief Operations Officer at Melita. "LogNet Billing allows us to manage four separate business lines in a single customer service operation."
"We are proud to be extending our long standing relationship with Melita and support its position as a leading quadruple play communications service provider in Europe," explained Kirill Rechter, CEO of LogNet Billing. "Our unique deployment on Melita's quadruple play network can serve as an example to other network operators and service providers planning to rollout additional multiple-play services."

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System delivers RF tests on LTE-compatible mobile stations

Rohde & Schwarz has launched the R&S TS8980 - a scalable RF test system for the entire development process of LTE-compatible mobile stations. According to R&S, the system's consistent concept with transmitter and receiver tests frees manufacturers from having to invest time and money in re-engineering their products as they prepare for conformance testing. The R&S TS8980 meets the existing test requirements for LTE developments in accordance with 3GPP Release 8.The company's new R&S TS8980 has been specially designed for LTE-compatible mobile station manufacturers and test houses, and offers preconfigured test scenarios for general development tests, precompliance measurements and conformance tests. Depending on requirements, users can also adapt individual parameters of existing test scenarios or program complete test cases.Scalable configurations of the R&S TS8980 are available for each area of application, and all of them use a standard software solution in R&S CONTEST. This yields consistent RF tests with comparable results throughout the entire development process. Errors that otherwise would first be detected during the conformance tests can be identified at an early stage of development. As a result, manufacturers can avoid spending valuable resources on re-engineering their LTE products and significantly reduce time-to-market, says R&S.The base model of the R&S TS8980 consists of the R&S CMW500 wireless tester used together with a PC and the R&S CONTEST software. The expanded configurations offer a range of market-proven Rohde & Schwarz test instruments, known for their maximum measurement accuracy and reliability. These include signal generators such as the R&S AMU200A and the R&S SMU200A, as well as the R&S FSQ signal analyzer. The resulting test systems support all currently defined LTE frequency bands.Numerous functions of the R&S TS8980 make the developer's job easier: the automation of test routines, the monitoring of accessories such as climatic chambers or the remote control of the DUT (device under test). Users can test multiple mobile stations simultaneously by implementing the multi-DUT option, to reduce test times. The automatic path calibration helps ensure high measurement accuracy, and users can display and analyze the measurements in a variety of reports by using the configurable realtime graphical interface.

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All Change

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, explains why the launch of Opera Turbo, and the rapid growth in the mobile broadband market, will create a paradigm shift on the desktop web browser market
The desktop browser market is characterised by developing towards browsers that have an increasing level of functionality and that are becoming larger and more bulky. Likewise, many websites that visitors access using their browsers are also becoming increasingly bulky. The increased complexity and bulkiness of browsers and websites has been compensated, however, by faster PCs and the transition from dial-up Internet connections to DSL broadband.In Strand Consult’s report ‘Successful Strategies for the Mobile Broadband Market’, we have examined this market development. The fact that mobile broadband is being sold as a flat-rate product - but with a maximum download limit - has resulted in completely new needs emerging from both operators and customers.From the operators’ point of view, the success of mobile broadband has resulted in operators facing large investments in network capacity and in their backhaul (backbone) - the network that delivers broadband and capacity to the base stations. The colossal explosion in mobile broadband traffic has resulted in the whole mobile industry facing multi-billion infrastructure investments - investments that are growing daily as mobile traffic increases, and an ever-increasing number of customers use a mobile broadband network to connect to the Internet.
Data-compression solutionsDuring the many workshops we have held for operators around the world, we have experienced many operators asking for solutions that can limit or compress their flat-rate data traffic. We have taken a closer look at this problem in the analysis here. In practice, there is no doubt that if you sell flat-rate connections, it is important to examine any way that you can either limit the amount of data traffic, or alternatively, create new sources of revenue.From a customer's point of view, it is important to optimise the available bandwidth when using mobile broadband and to get as much value for money as possible out of the data traffic included in the mobile broadband package. Basically, customers want to surf quickly and inexpensively - and it needs to work.But the development we have been experiencing on the desktop browser market has not taken into account the development of the mobile broadband market, and the browser industry has not taken into account the needs of millions of mobile broadband customers in the short, medium and long-term. Strand Consult has had a great deal of focus on this issue, both in our workshops and in our dialogue with companies like Opera in Norway. This has been one of the main areas that we believe both operators and browser developers like Opera should be very focused on.
Opera Turbo Last week at MWC, Opera announced Opera Turbo, a desktop browser that combines the widely-known Opera Mini compression technology with a desktop browser. This allows users to surf the Internet faster, while using less bandwidth, compared to a traditional desktop browser. At Strand Consult, we believe that the traditional desktop browser industry is facing a paradigm shift and that the browser manufacturers will need to address the millions of new mobile broadband customers that are choosing to purchase a new mobile broadband connection each month. Quite simply, both end-users and mobile operators will demand products with the functionality that Opera is launching with Opera Turbo.The good news for the browser industry is that the experience from Opera Mini and from the many operator workshops that Strand Consult has held around the world shows that mobile operators have the ability and willingness to pay market players like Opera to allow their customers access to browser technology like Opera Mini and Opera Turbo. At the end of the day, operators need to limit their CAPEX, while increasing end user experience when customers use mobile broadband connections to surf the Internet.In our mobile broadband report, we analyse the challenges operators are facing, and explain why an application like Opera Turbo will help create a paradigm shift for the traditional desktop browser industry. With the launch of Opera Turbo, the mobile industry will most probably experience a paradigm shift larger than we have seen with Apple and the iPhone. One thing is certain - there is a great probability that there will be many more people using browsers like Opera Turbo to surf the Internet, than people using the iPhone.
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Brand, UI and Content Are Key, GetJar Survey Finds

Embedded content is now one of the key factors in determining which new mobile handset consumers choose, according to the results of a poll published today by independent app store GetJar. 69% of respondents indicated that the content provided with a new phone is now more important to their purchase decision than price, design or even touchscreen capability.The poll, conducted across the 130 countries in the GetJar network, surveyed 1,000 respondents across 130 countries. The primary demographics of the sample were 75% male, with 79% of respondents under 25 years old. Respondents were asked to rank a list of 10 phone features by order of importance including brand, screen size/ resolution, user experience/phone software, phone memory, quality of camera, price, touchscreen, music player, embedded content and overall design/look and feel. They were also asked to grade each of those features individually on a five-level scale of importance.When ranking the most important features their new phone must have, brand remains the number one factor for consumers, with 28% of respondents placing that at the top of their list of criteria, ahead of user experience (17%). The content that comes with the handset was third, with 12% of respondents worldwide saying it is ‘extremely important’ to their choice of new handset, ahead of phone memory (8%), price (5%) and design (7%).“While the phone’s user interface and brand prove to be dominant factors for deciding which handset consumers choose, the big change in consumer preference we see within this survey is the importance they are placing on content,” says GetJar Networks CEO and Founder. “With nearly five years experience distributing mobile applications to consumers around the world, GetJar brings quality content directly to consumers in the easiest and quickest way possible. GetJar generates over 22 million downloads per month, so we know how important content is to consumers, and these poll results indicate that they also want top quality content in place when choosing a new mobile phone.”GetJar’s poll showed increased demand for embedded content across all the major international regions, but consumers in the US placed it higher on their list of priorities than those in Europe, with 60% of US respondents stating that it was ‘extremely important’ to their choice of handset, compared to 47% in Europe.The findings also indicate that the uptake of new handsets will be faster in Europe, with only 25% of those surveyed saying they will not get a new phone this year compared to 40% of US consumers polled.In Asia, brand was again the key overall factor for phone choice, with 28% of consumers saying this was the number one attribute for them. Second was user interface/phone software with 18%, and content third with 14%. Price was cited as the most important factor by only 5% of respondents.In India specifically, a massive 60% of respondents considered the phone interface/software to be extremely important to their choice of handset, alongside the quality of the camera (also 60%). When asked about their plans to buy a new phone in 2009, 30% said they did not expect to purchase or upgrade in 2009.

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