Mobile advertising: Intimacy and intrusion

It seems that mobile operators, after years of talk, are finally taking the idea of mobile advertising seriously. In the latest issue of Campaign magazine, Deborah Bonello talks to some of the advertisers (subscription required) who are hoping to take advantage of this trend and the potential for intimacy, targeting and tracking that the medium is able to offer. But just how intimate are consumers willing to get at this stage of the game? We’ve talked before about the close relationship that people have with their phones. It is this personal connection that offers the potential for powerful advertising reach. As Dusan Hamlin, the managing director at mobile marketing agency Inside explains "Mobile offers the ability to target an ad to the consumer by personal information such as age, sex, interest and location at any given time, plus the ability to bill for products and services." Watch out though for the “piss-off factor”. People tend to open and read all of their messages on their mobiles and they do not take too kindly to spam. Direct mobile advertising through SMS has been going on for some time now with less than ideal results. Our own research suggests that this kind of intrusive advertising is more likely to generate ill will towards its source than anything else. So will more accurate targeting brighten the public’s perceptions of mobile advertising? It certainly has some potential but something important is missing from this debate. In our own experience of the issue, consumers are worried about more than just the “piss-off factor.” As advertising becomes more closely targeted so it draws more upon personal information. There is a real risk of alienating consumers if they start to feel that advertisers are starting to snoop on their personal lives. When we talk to consumers there is a spectrum of acceptability on this issue. Targeting according to a customer submitted personal profile seems to be fine. Control remains in their hands. Targeting according to customer location receives a more wary reception. Is their location really something that the public wanted in the hands of marketers? When it comes to targeted advertising based on the content of text messages, people really begin to feel uncomfortable. Although there is some variation to how seriously people took the issue, there seems to be a general concensus that some information should be kept private and out of bounds for advertisers. Doubtful of any real benefit to themselves, many consumers are more concerned about their perceived loss of privacy. Of course, all the information needed to make use of these services is already available to mobile operators. But the thought of it being used for advertising really brings that fact home for the consumer. Any company wishing to play a part in mobile advertising should be mindful of this fact. If they don’t treat the issue of privacy with due sensitivity to consumer concerns then they risk losing their customers to a company that does.