Tuesday, June 30, 2009

There is no escape from advertising... or is there?

Reuters reports that the advertising industry expects mobile advertising to grow by 45% per annum over the coming five years, from $3.1 billion now to $28.8 billion then, according to Ineum Consulting.

The increasing prevelence of smartphones, and the falling costs of data upload make the use of Facebook and other social networks more and more tempting, especially as you can thus reach people in places where they go voluntarily. It will also allow for more targetted campaigns, more localised or small scale ones, making advertising more accessible for small businesses.

On the other hand, if spend in this sector is going to increase by 45% per annum, other sectors will see a relative decline in revenue, as already witnessed in the newspaper and commercial television sectors. This could mean increased casualties in the regional press and in marginal television stations, costing us some of the choice and variety that currently exists.

The irony is that we may see a polarisation between visual, stationery mediums like poster advertsing and small scale, nimble mobile advertising. The knock-on effects could be many. For example, do you need actors to populate adverts, when a still frame will suffice? And if you need less actors, will they be available to perform 'real' drama on stage, as opposed to lowest common denominator television?

On balance, I remain to be convinced that my life will be enriched by mobile advertising...

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