OCLATIS,+SETH+B

=Google's Shaping The Feel of Mobile Advertising=

SETH B OCLATIS
Google is jumping on the opportunity to develop the next big format for Smartphone’s integrated advertisements. Is the combination of cell phones, a personal device that our society has become addicted to, and advertising, dying out in the newspaper industry, a match made in technology heaven? Or will the convergence just be another bothersome thing that attracts little attention? The story begins with a pretty basic idea; cell phones, plus advertising, equals money. Smart phones are now capable of integrating complex media rich ads within web browsing and in applications. This is not a new idea. The textbook defines cyberadvertising as, “the convergence of print and broadcast advertising with the web- that is attracting the most industry interest”(Baran, 2008, p. 344). Cyberadvertising is expanding into the mobile industry too. Smartphone owners are using bandwidth to access the web straight from their cell phone, dodging the PC when possible. Smartphone have large screens, perfectly tailored for advertisements, exactly what Google is capitalizing on.

The mobile advertising platform is growing so much that it developed its own economy. In the New York Times article “Bug by Bug, Google Fixes a New Idea” by Stephanie Clifford, figures show that mobile advertising is now responsible for 1% of Google’s entire revenue. That is close to $650 million and growing (Clifford, 2009).

Google’s attempt to grow this market is based on form rather than function. Google is restructuring the mobile online experience so companies can design richer, more integrated ads that can be viewed on Blackberry’s and iPhone’s.

An article from the Journal of Marketing Communication admits, “mobile advertising has grown rapidly over recent years, yet volume is not necessarily a good measure of consumer acceptance”(Kolsaker &Drekatos,2009, p.267). So the quantity of advertisement, for Smartphone’s, does not translate into success of influential mobile advertisements. The Authors used research to show that phone activity is so quick and priority driven, that people tend not to pay attention to advertisements on their mobile devices. Even in the New York Times article Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst for the Bernstein Company said, “although mobile usage was growing, revenue potential was limited”(Clifford, 2009, p.2). In other words, Mobile Advertisement’s are not predicted to grow enough to compete with the larger advertising markets. Figure 12.3 in the textbook uses a pie graph to show the distribution of influence of different advertising mediums. Television holds 82% of advertising influence, and the Internet, including mobile, has less than 10% of influence because of availability. Although the technology is here, simply not everyone has a Smartphone.

For now, Google is optimistic with its technological improvements to mobile advertising. Google is a company known for taking risks, and they have been very successful in the past. This was probably a good adaptation for Google, but the advertisers know they wont be expecting as much attention as traditional platforms such as television, radio, magazines, or even dying newspapers. Like any media, these advertisements are new, and they need time to prove their worthiness.

 References Baran, S. J. (2008). //Introduction to mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture // (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Clifford, S. (2009). Bug by Bug, Google Fixes a New Idea. //New York Times //. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from []

 Kolsaker, A., & Drekatos, N. (2009). Mobile Advertising: The Influence of Emotional Attachment to Mobile Devices on Consumer Receptiveness. //Journal of Marketing Communications //, //15 //(4), 267-280. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from EBSCO.