New ad tracking tool

I found this story on the Mobile Europe website. Interesting stuff.

M:Metrics launches 'first' mobile advertising tracking services in the UK
M: Metrics has unveiled M:Ad, its competitive tracking service for mobile advertising, in the United Kingdom, claiming to reveal the first definitive metrics for measuring mobile advertising inventory. The measurement firm reports that online retail companies such as Electronic Arts, Glu and Ebay are placing the bulk of mobile ads, with the category comprising of 39 percent of all mobile ads tracked by M:Metrics.

"Early findings are encouraging, as they indicate that mobile is increasingly being incorporated into mainstream media buys," said Paul Goode, senior analyst, M:Metrics. "In January, M:Ad has tracked major brands across a range of industries, including Avis, BMW, Cadbury's, Citroen, EMAP and IBM, using mobile advertising."

The expansion to the M: Metrics product portfolio is said to come after the success of M:Ad in the United States, launched in November 2007. In January, M:Ad tracked 403 unique creative advertisements in the United Kingdom, in 91 campaigns representing 48 different companies. The ads were from a variety of different industries such as; advertising, automobile manufacturers, broadcasting and cable TV, Internet retail, movies and entertainment, casinos and gaming, food retail, home furnishings and computer hardware.

"Advertisers, media agency and media owners in the UK are calling out for greater clarity on who is advertising what, where and when. Today, M:Metrics can deliver this critical data to the market," said Goode. "In the United States, M:Ad has been warmly welcomed, and we are excited to bring our tracking expertise into the UK market to help grow mobile advertising expenditure."

With 16 percent of U.K. mobile subscribers accessing news and information via the mobile browser in December, advertisers' attention is turning towards banner advertising. M:Ad classifies mobile ads by company, division and product/service as well as by industry/sector. It also reveals when ads are being served to help identify seasonality and campaign rotation. There is no other method of monitoring the breadth of current inventory of mobile ads to inform advertising campaign strategies.

Using M:Metrics' proprietary data collection technologies and measurement science expertise, M:Ad provides a much-anticipated glimpse into the mobile advertising landscape. M:Ad 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.

M:Ad is available today in the United Kingdom and will be rolled out to the major European markets throughout the year.

What are the top 5 things to move the needle on mobile internet?

datacharges on long haul flights?

I don't have a view on this but would be interested to hear if i was to browse the mobile internet on a long haul flight, is it possible without taking out a second mortgage?

Growth of mobile internet at the detriment of PC?

Mobile Broadband is booming and fixed-line broadband could soon go the way of landline telephones according to one recent report. Subscribers to mobile broadband services grew by 91% in 2007, and a 63% growth rate in mobile broadband subscribers in 2008 is also predicted, with total subscribers rising from 230 million in 2007 to 375 million in 2008.

This is an interesting lead into the Annual Mobile Broadband Congress. I wonder if these users are taking up mobile broadband instead on fixed line broadband or even wireless? I suspect the answer is no unless it is in countries that do not have the home PC culture that we enjoy in Europe.

It did make me wonder when the day will come that Europeans shift their internet use from PC's to mobile. I suspect that bundling will play a big part but no different to Sky where some people (how could they?) opt out of Sky Sports, i suspect some consumers will only wantt o pay for the most convenient platform and that could well be mobile not.. PC.

I found this in the Inquirer by Sylvie Barak so here is the unedited version.

AS IF ONLINE SHOPPING hasn't made it easy enough for punters to spend ever greater amounts of their hard-earned dosh, Amazon.com yesterday launched a text message shopping service, allowing people to compare product prices and buy things with an SMS from their mobile phone.

The new service will probably have real-world physical shops seething and foaming at the mouth, as Amazon's TextBuyIt service gives people the opportunity to send them a product name, UPC or ISBN number, directly from their portable phones (even from inside real world retailers) in order to get back a text detailing whether Amazon stocks the object of desire and how much it would cost. If Amazon’s price is better, the customer can even buy it directly, then and there, from their mobiles.

All a customer supposedly has to do is text over their Amazon log-in e-mail address and their shipping post code, after which Amazon calls them and, using an automated message system, guides them through the checkout process. When the transaction is complete, the punter gets both an SMS and an email confirmation of their purchase. If they want to track the item’s delivery, the customer can just check the full fat Amazon.com and see all the details online.

Most importantly, maybe now bookshops and electronics dealers will realise that it's not so easy to rip us off anymore and may have to actually resort to cutting prices to acceptable levels to begin with.

As an amazon user i like this concept as it offers a direct comparison and solution. Sometimes the best ideas are simple.

Experts or directory enquiries bod?

It makes sense. Utlilising your staff and resource. Diversifying through extending your services. But something doesn't seem right.

Yes i am talking about 118 118 launching a text answer service similar to Textperts. The interesting part is that the service formerley known as directory enquiries now offers mobile advertising. I like this and it does work.

The bit that is a concern is Textperts and indeed AQA have created a fun service that is useful. 118 118 will be going in the oppisite direction.

So do they have the right profile staff to compose an answer? Do they offer the CRM capabilities to stimulate the consumer? Will consumers go for a brand that is seen as only a faceless talking directory rather than a witty service with a personlaity?

I wonder if 118 118 may just open the cheque book and buy Textperts outright, it may be the right move, especially as all the other wannabees are sure to follow?

Interestingly, i have often thought that Textperts would carry mobile advertising, i will watch these developments with interest.