Posts Tagged ‘yellow assistance’

The answer is everyone with a pulse.  Mobile phones are referred to in the industry as the Third Screen.  The TV and the Computer being 1st and 2nd respectively.  A lot of focus is being put on advertising on the Third Screen, why?  It is harder to advertise on because it is a pull versus a push form of advertising.   Shouldn’t email marketing be easier because you can practically send it to everyone? Actually, advertisers love the mobile phone because it is push, in essence they are advertising to people who want their advertising!  Sounds like a fantastic opportunity to advertisers to advertise to only those who want their advertising.  This is a fairly new technology but many companies are cropping up to offer large companies like Pepsi, Arby’s, and Jiffy Lube the opportunity to opt in cell phone users.  Once the cell phone users opt in, then the company is free to market to the mobile phone.  These companies will send out marketing messages in the form of mobile discounts andwill easily be able to accurately measure the results.  With this type of marketing, the companies can quickly find out what works and what doesn’t work and then run similar promotions via other media.

The Third Screen is also fast becoming  viable method of viewing broadcast content.  Companies like News Over Wireless are offering television content, news, sports, etc. directly to the mobile phone.  This is one more area for advertisers to reach the fastest growing segment in the advertising industry.  However, this advertising is not permission based, it is the same as broadcast on TV, it is interuptive. My guess is most users won’t care about a few commercials just as they didn’t care when TV first started running commercials.  The newness of the technology affords some leeway to the advertisers.  Also, it is more difficult to surf while the commercials are on, most cell phone users will watch the commercials.  It is a more captive audience then the person watching TV or listening to radio. 

Will the broadcast companies partner with companies like Yellow Assistance to provide local search and mobile advertising platforms to their current and new advertisers?  Time will tell who forms these partner relationships and who will try to internally build the technology.  One thing is clear, it really isn’t a question of should they, it is more a question of when will they do it.