Mobile Advertising Still Attractive Despite Increasing Price

Marketers are nowadays looking to reap the benefits of mobile technologies, given their widespread use and consumers’ permanent drive to stay connected on the go, John Aspinell, service delivery manager at Ashdown Group, says. Marketing experts now tend to slate larger budgets for mobile advertising campaigns to catch consumers’ attention on their smartphones and tablets and to influence their spending habits and decisions.

Among the features of mobile advertising that appeal most to marketers are its power to deliver data faster than any other channel and to reach consumers in all parts of the world. Entering the mobile arena also allows marketers to generate higher response rates by mastering the techniques of personalisation and targeting. Mobile marketing is also known for its relatively low-cost nature. Many businesses are now advertising their brands by sending mobile messages since it requires smaller budgets, unlike TV, radio or printed ads that demand allocating money for air time, printing or postage.

A recent report by M&C Saatchi Mobile, however, indicates that the cost of mobile advertising is increasing and soon it will no longer be quite so affordable. The study found that with growing demand, higher mobile advertising spend and the increasing popularity of sleek gadgets it will start to tangibly weigh on marketing budgets. Over the past 12 months smartphone advertising prices have advanced by 20% on average. According to Saatchi Mobile’s head James Hilton, the drive towards more sophisticated content is what is pushing up costs as marketers are now investing more in this field in an attempt to stand out from the crowd.