Mobile advertising in the U.S. reminds us a bit of the spooky Halloween apparition that Linus used to wait for in the comic strip Peanuts -- it's a cool idea but always just about to appear.
Effective mobile advertising isn't here yet. It has trended up, from $871 million in spending globally in 2006 to an estimated $1 billion in 2008. But those numbers point out a serious issue -- if the technology is so hot, 7.5% annual growth in ad spending is hardly marketers leaping aboard. Mobile advertising still represents only 0.2% of all global media budgets.
The problem lies in usability. A new study by Keynote Systems tested the current easiest mobile operating system, the iPhone, by asking a panel of users to perform simple tasks such as visit web sites and rate their satisfaction. The results were dismal:
- Only 25% of iPhone users recalled seeing any ads (even though ads were there)
- Only 4% ever clicked on any ad
- The users were extremely frustrated with what they said were poor layouts/usability of web sites. Only 51% of consumers said they were satisfied with the Yahoo site on the iPhone, for example.
It's tough to hear because we all love the idea of mobile marketing. The devices are incredibly personal, useful, and with GPS functionality open vast new frontiers for location-based marketing. But tiny screens, competing operating systems, and the frank annoyance consumers have with being interrupted as they make personal calls or text messages means mobile response rates are still extraordinarily low. The real end game may be a model other than banner-type advertising interception, in which consumers get something of strong value in exchange for hearing your marketing message.
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