Text messages lead U.S. mobile ads

Posted by Erina Lin on July 31, 2008 at 11:57 PM

Although new formats of mobile ads come out frequently, a study found that traditional text messages are still most influential in terms of consumers’ responsibility, eMarketer reported.

According to a Direct Marketing Association (DMA) survey targeting U.S. mobile users ages 15 and older, 70 percent of the respondents who had respond to mobile ads said text messages had prompted their actions, more than three times as many as those who responded to a mobile Web offer or coupon.

However, text messaging is not able to replace other marketing channels such as e-mail or direct mail. According to a survey conducted in February 2008 by ExactTarget, only 1 percent of U.S. online users picked text messaging as their choice for opt-in communications channels. Instead, it is more for a specific target group, and as part of multichannel campaigns, eMarketer reported.

Text messaging may not dominate mobile advertising due to more and more mobile users with sophisticated phones and data plans. However, it is still likely to remain its long-term appeal just like text-based e-mail.

Meanwhile, the bigger issue is when mobile advertising will become a mainstream. For most marketers and advertisers, mobile is still an experimental channel for them, according to eMarketer.

Based on an iMedia Connection survey conducted in February 2008, though about one-quarter of respondents were open to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to use mobile ads this year, more than two-thirds still said they would do no more than dabble, eMarketer reported.

“Excitement about mobile advertising is building. Even those who currently discount mobile do so from the perspective of timing or tactics, not so much because of the inherent attraction of the idea,” said John du Pre Gauntt, senior analyst at eMarketer.