MSearchGroove

Mobile IM: Vendor spin aside it certainly looks like instant messaging is poised to be the killer opp (opportunity) for mobile operators moving forward. Already 25 percent of mobile users send instant messages from their phone, according to a recent AP-AOL Instant Messaging Trends Survey. This figure is even higher for teens (32 percent) who use IM more than email and are more likely to IM others from within their social networking sites. And it’s not just consumers. The study (which examined the usage habits of 1,246 IM users) found 27 percent of respondents use IM at work (Peggy is always IMing me with the latest news, so I can vouch for that trend) and half of users say IM makes them more productive.

(BTW, mobile IM is gaining serious traction with the youth segment. Swiss operator Swisscom, for example, “gets it” and offers a mobile IM only device which is really cashing in on this phenomenon.. Indeed, a successful mobile IM offer – aligned with factors such as pricing and device form - could be the centrepiece of a ’sticky’ mobile content portfolio.)

AD-TRACKER: Some good news for marketers sorely in need of a feedback loop and a means to monitor the current inventory of mobile ads. M:Metrics, a company that specializes in measuring consumer consumption of mobile services and apps, has launched M:AdTracker - it does what it says: tracks ads. The service is available today in the U.S. and will be rolled out to the major European markets in 2008.

“As advertisers are increasingly featuring mobile into their ad buys, they are clamoring for data about who’s advertising what, where and when,” Will Hodgman, president and CEO, M:Metrics, said in a statement. M:AdTracker continuously monitors clickable display advertising from a broad representative set of mobile Web destinations, and classifies the data by industry, company and by product/service to reveal leading advertisers in and across market segments.

According to Hodgman, the data reveals some unexpected surprises. “For example, more than a dozen Fortune 100 companies are advertising on mobile, with the heaviest representation being among media companies advertising Web sites, TV shows, movies and books. The automotive, travel and leisure and financial services industries are also making investments into the mobile medium. It’s not just games and ringtones – it’s everything from iced coffee to auto insurance.”

MOBILE INTERNET: Global mobile Internet revenues are pegged at around US$9.5 billion per year, but they should already be worth more than US$66 billion per year according to a report published by the Yankee Group. The majority of this ‘lost’ revenue is down to the fact that user adoption has been restricted by the lack of affordable and reliable mobile Internet connections offered by operators. This will certainly grow as more operators join the flat rate bandwagon and lower data pricing to boost demand and usage.

• Posted in
• Mobile Content, Mobile Advertising

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