IDC Says Don't Underestimate Full Potential of Mobile Marketing

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile marketing represents one of the most promising and challenging opportunities for both the advertising and mobile industries. With more than two billion mobile users in the world today, IDC believes that mobile prevails as the first medium through which advertisers can reach such a large audience on an individual basis in the developing world. According to IDC, the brand spend of the U.S. mobile marketing market in 2006 should more than double the spend in 2005.

“We believe that mobile marketing is one of the few instances in which the current hype actually underestimates the full potential of the market opportunity”

In order for mobile marketing messages to be effective, they must capture the attention of and engage users. How mobile users will react to mobile marketing is the billion-dollar question. An IDC survey shows that mobile users show limited tolerance for prerolls lasting more than 8 to 10 seconds. This means that successful mobile marketing campaigns must quickly engage users in the first few seconds, not just treat them as a captive audience. If done right, mobile marketing provides an unparalleled window into the lives of mobile users such as their search, discovery and sharing of content. In addition, there are more than a dozen different mobile marketing formats that offer ways to create entirely new marketing experiences.

"We believe that mobile marketing is one of the few instances in which the current hype actually underestimates the full potential of the market opportunity," says Scott Ellison, vice president of Wireless and Mobile Communications at IDC. "The winners will be those players who fully leverage the mobile ecosystem rather than try to simply translate other marketing and advertising business models to mobile."

This IDC study, U.S. Mobile Marketing and Advertising 2007-2011 Forecast: The Potential Actually Exceeds the Hype (Doc #205641), discusses the key issues and dynamics of the emerging mobile marketing market. The report also defines six newly emerging U.S. mobile consumer market segments recently uncovered by IDC research. This information will be unveiled at two important IDC meetings this month: IDC's upcoming Directions 2007 conference as well as IDC @ CTIA breakfast briefing event. Both events will allow attendees to meet one-on-one with IDC's Scott Ellison.

IDC analysts will discuss and debate the power struggle impacting the mobile and wireless market at a complimentary breakfast briefing on Wednesday March 28th at CTIA Wireless 2007 in Orlando, Florida. Learn more by visiting http://www.idc.com/ctia2007. This event will be moderated by Tracy Ford, who is associate publisher and editor of RCR Wireless News.

To purchase this document, call IDC's Sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email [e-mail].

About IDC

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 900 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 90 countries worldwide. For more than 43 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

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