Monique Rivera

Nowadays, young people seem to be spending more time on their mobile phones than ever – and savvy communicators know this. Cell phone companies have developed a solution that allows targeted advertisers to place banners on cell phones as part of reaching a broader audience, which boils down to being a rather inexpensive way to reach millions of consumers.

Most cell-phone companies allow marketers to advertise via mobile phones to customers as long as the offers are well-targeted and provide something of value to the customer, such as a coupon, giveaway, contest entry or access to other promotions.

Mobile advertising enables businesses to target specific audiences according to geography, interest categories, service types and time of day. Advertisers can send out promotional messages, store locations, special offers and more. Take 4Info Advertising for example. They give businesses and advertisers all of these options.

Sonopia, a business which allows organizations to put their own logo in brand name phones such as Sprint and T-Mobile, has become increasingly popular. Sonopia allows nonprofit groups to distribute news and entertainment to their customers. They have even talked to companies like Gucci about offering luxury cell phones to shoppers. Gucci could show footage of their products and offer discounts through their phones. Now imagine that.

NASCAR, which has become one of the biggest mobile phone advertisers, continues to sponsor the Sprint Nextel Cup, which many customers will see pop up on their phones when the racing season is upon us.

Sprint has been long known for helping marketers target their messages to consumers by hometown, sex and other factors. They provide marketers with phone user’s gender and hometown info, allowing marketers to optimize the channel and reduce the cost of sales. An example of this would be marketers that are looking to sell sports apparel could feature a customer’s hometown team. But don’t worry people; Sprint abides by strict privacy guidelines…at least for now.

Verizon Wireless allows its users to download and use applications such as ringtones, music and games on a Get It Now-enabled phone. They also allow placement of banner ads on news, weather, sports and other Internet sites.

Different shows have also taken to Mobile advertising, such as American Idol, which urges viewers to send in a vote for their favorite contestant. America’s Best Dance Crew also has this type of fan participation.

A new trend in mobile phones is known as “ad-supported” mobile phone service. Some examples are Xero-Mobile, which combines mobile phones and advertising, and allows free mobile airtime in exchange for watching TV-style ads. Blyk, a mobile virtual network operator in the UK, offers free mobile phone calls to 16-24 yr. olds in exchange for receiving ads in the form of text and picture messages. I think this is a smart way of advertising. Allowing your customers to get something for free in exchange for doing something is pretty cool.

Of course, Facebook allows you to access the Facebook application on any phone, but it is especially popular with the Blackberry.

MySpace has gone mobile and is growing rapidly through T-Mobile’s sidekick.

Mobile advertising is a great way to reach people in an inexpensive way. It’s witty, it’s clever, and it’s nonetheless the way of the future.

What do you think about advertisers contacting you anywhere, anytime? Essentially there will be an advertiser in your purse, pocket and whenever you flip open your phone. Would you consider this an invasion of privacy, or do you welcome this consumer-based advertising protocol?

Photo Credit: Dr. Sabrina Segal