Mobile vendors sign major advertising deal

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 23 Sep 2008 at 08:45

Britain's big five mobile operators have struck a major deal with the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) to promote development of mobile advertising.

Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and 3 will appoint the IAB - the group tasked with linking marketers to internet sites - to sell the benefits of mobile advertising.

The operators see mobile advertising as a powerful offering as it allows brands to target consumers based on their location, and at times of the day when they are otherwise hard to reach. However, mobile advertising has so far been slow to take off with analyst estimates suggesting the sector will be worth just £30 million this year.

The IAB claimed an industry survey towards the end of 2007 found that mobile advertising is viewed in much the same way as online advertising was in 2000: lacking standards, measurement systems and case studies to support the medium.

"These are exciting times for the industry. Consumers are becoming more acquainted with mobile as a marketing medium and increasingly accepting of relevant, targeted advertising on their handsets," says Shan Henderson, head of mobile advertising and industry development, at Vodafone.