Experts posit that consumers will tolerate advertisers' attempts if their messages are entertaining and relevant.SAN FRANCISCO—Let's face it: Whenever there's an opportunity for an advertiser to reach an audience, whether it's through a conventional TV commercial, spam e-mail, or through a logo on a golfer's cap, expect to see messages sent.
Cell phone networks are not be left out. With more than 200 million people now using mobile phones each day (55 million of them under age 20) in the U.S., advertisers are keen to use this channel to reach all those eyes.
The question is: How does one send branding and marketing messages successfully to cell phone users, without raising their ire?
"It all depends on the message, and whether it's relevant," said Stephen Oman, program director of ChangingWorlds,, a Dublin, Ireland-based company that makes software that personalizes menus on mobile phones based on usage. "If it's something you personally are interested in, then you may respond. If it's not, it's just deleted, and you may become irritated by it.
"Marketing is part of everyday life," Oman said. "We carry it around with us all day long. We're used to it."
Oman spoke as part of a panel discussion on mobile phone marketing and advertising, held Monday at the iHollywood Mobile Entertainment Summit at the Masonic Auditorium here.
"Who here would like to receive a commercial on their phone?" asked panel moderator Alice Cuneo, West Coast editor of Advertising Age. Nobody in the audience raised their hand. "Who here would like to receive something entertaining and funny on their phone?" she followed. Many people raised their hands.
"So there it is. We want to be entertained, constantly. It depends on the creative," said panelist Jack Philbin, co-founder and president of Vibes Media.
"Mobile (phone) marketing is a 'pull' medium, as opposed to a 'push' medium, in that it can pull a call to action and create a dialog—unlike radio or TV, which is one-way and tries to push you into an action," Philbin said.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Weighing the Tolerance for Mobile Phone Marketing
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