That’s the phrase which popped into my mind upon seeing this January 14, 2010 post on MobileMarketingWatch, titled “Tracking Mobile Ad Click Rates: Symbian Rules.”
Mobile advertising, just like traditional web ads, is an exciting area because of the reach and audience segmentation possibilities. In parallel with significant investment moves by Google and Apple to get involved via acquisition, the hype around mobile ads is at a fever pitch right now. I’m afraid customers and investors who fixate here are in for some disappointment down the line, however.
Click through rate, or CTR, is the measure by which mobile and traditional online ads alike are gauged, and the article highlights global research showing that the unlikely Symbian platform is the leader in offering high CTRs, even in the U.S. where it’s not as dominant in terms of market share.
Clearly, a lot of advertisers are thinking “I have to be on Symbian” yet the hype and press would never point an ad buyer at this platform as opposed to the iPhone or a Google Android device.
Advertisers need to remember as well, where are those who click through going to? A mobile optimized landing page or website? A smartphone application download? A coupon or bar code for redemption at the point of sale? If the answer to any of these is “none of the above” and instead “we’re just happy to have lots of eyeballs seeing our message,” a huge opportunity to drive sales, engender loyalty, or cultivate brand affinity is wasted.
Viewing mobile as an engagement channel that allows businesses to create highly personal interactions that induce action on the part of customers is the real opportunity represented by mobile advertising. It needs to be viewed as just one part of the value equation, which is why marketers are increasingly coming to Interactive Mediums to leverage our mobile customer engagement platform and expertise around creating effective mobile dialogues with customers across SMS text messaging, mobile web, apps and social media.
