Exploring the Advertising Potentialin Mobile Messaging Environment

Stephane Gantchev Co-Founder, Mobile Monday Sofia

The Future of Mobile MessagingPrague, 24 Sept, 2009

Agenda

• New & Innovative messaging services• Ad enabling messaging services• Successful mobile advertising offer• Knowing more about your customers• And what about the surrounding noise ?

Quickly about me

• Spent last 5 years in Orange / France Telecom Group• Headed the “Orange Trial Factory” VAS Innovation program• Recently moved to new challenges:

– Co-Founder of Mobile Monday Sofia– Co-Founder of Innovastorm– Business Development for CEE at Velti

• I’m passionate about mobile and innovation

Orange Trial Factory - Confidential Groupe France Télécom

Challenges of the Mobile Innovation … ?

“The Innovation in France Telecom is like a truck race on a mountain road…”

Didier Lombard, CEO, France Telecom Group

I tried to be a rally car driver among trucks…

What were the Killer messaging services ?

• SMS• Mobile Email• IM ?• MMS ??• Voice SMS ???

What will come soon in messaging

• “Advanced Messaging services” – SMS forward SMS Mirror, Out of office etc. – probably in the beginning will be adopted mainly by Business users

• SMS Money transfer (#CASH)

• Safety, Parental Control

• Converged Messaging :IM + SMS + email etc.

What will come soon in messaging (cont’d)

• More services, using the SMS as transport, for example SMS parking, or even SMS post stamps !

• All kind of alerting: banks, institutions (taxes…), home security• Distant services: enable things distantly• Machine to machine communication • Voicemail to SMS• Other…

Innovative Messaging Services

SMS Reply to all(or “group messaging”)

Increase the messaging traffic by reproducing existing practices on other channels

Innovative Messaging Services (cont’d)

Integration with Social Networks and the other folks

Innovative Messaging Services (cont’d)

Icon based messaging language (mobile, web, IM...)

Or just nice cool & personalized messages

Finding your friends should be as simple as 1, 2, 3…

1

A registered sniff user requests the location of a

friend

2

UN Platform

Carrier A Carrier B

Locate!

UN platform brokers the location transaction while managing privacy,

permissions, security

3

The sniff experience

sniff Stephane

A map and location is returned with links to call,

text, or navigate

Other innovative services, initiated by messaging, using messaging as transport

Mobile Advertising in Messaging

What’s Mobile Advertising anyway ?

Mobile Advertising in Messaging

• SMS and Mobile Messaging in general is a huge opportunity to advertise

• A lot of new services are using messaging as transport• But actually the users are not so keen to get advertising in

their messaging services– it should not be too intrusive– It should be user friendly – the “wow effect”– and of course it should be relevant

Mobile Advertising in Messaging

We are still doing the first steps…

Mobile Advertising in Messaging today

• What we are capable to do today: text ad insertion in A2P or P2P messages

• Used by the majority of mobile users, works probably on all devices out there

• => can attend a large audience

• But it’s it really cool ?• Ugly, not well visible, not clickable (most of

the cases)• In some cases not applicable (size of message)• C’mon we are in the 21st century !

From: Stephane

Hey, what’s up ! I’m

hungry, let’s go out

and have some pizza!

…AD…

Great deals on

Expedia

Mobile Advertising in Messaging tomorrow

It could be better than simple text insertion in the messages…

Mobile Advertising in Messaging tomorrow

• Nice full screen pictures/animations• Non intrusive (the users still see/send the

messages)• Relevant (user preferences)• Relevant (context)• Direct connection to the brand (click to call)

Challenges of Mobile Advertising in Innovative Messaging Services

• Advertising is often part of the business model of new innovative services• Too much formats : SMS or USSD, MMS, Home Screen, Applications, LBS …• So many channels and formats for the advertisers : which one to choose ?

From: Stephane

Hey, what’s up ! I’m

hungry, let’s go out

and have some

pizza!

…AD…

Great deals on

Expedia

Successful Advertising offer built on Messaging

• Could be ad funded offer (“Blyk like offer”) – free airtime & sms bundles vs advertising in all main mobile channels, A2P MMS, but also, calls, P2P, etc.

• Or “Value Club-like” offer– Create an opt-in database– Import & merge basic user profiling data from other operator sources– Start building advertising “communities” – Using dedicated campaigns, together with brands– Integrate with billing– Connect people to the Brands they love– Start knowing better your customers

Campaigns Opt in database Communities

Target Groups:Teens, Adults, Sports Fans, Music Lovers…

Create and Monetize an Opt-in Community with personalized VAS offers and targeted advertising

Mobile Advertising: The communities concept

Collection of demographic and behavioural data begins from the 1st touch-point and is continuously gathered to create the sub-categories in the community

Music Cinema/Movies Sports

Gadget Lovers Fashion Lovers Outdoors enthusiasts

Operators should know more their customers

• Operators are sitting on a gold mine !• New strong competitors are around (Google)• Lear more about the mobile subscribers, their taste, their

habits, the brands they like etc.• Do that now – the clock is ticking…

Or become a dump pipe …

But what expect mobile messaging users ?

Overloaded with surrounding NOISE

Conclusion: Advertising in Mobile Messaging

• So what’s the challenge of mobile advertising, particularly in messaging ?

• Do not overload people with Noise – Relevancy– Innovation to bring better experience– Knowing the users and their habits– Let users easily control and change settings– Should bring some benefits

• Good and simple for advertisers– Standard & proven channels and formats

• Make some money

Q&A

Thank you ! Any questions ?

Stephane Gantchev Co-Founder, Mobile Monday Sofiasgantchev@gmail.com+359 898 631 300