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While mobile marketing does not figure prominently on the actual conference agenda for Mobile World Congress this year, it has been a major topic of discussion in keynote addresses at the show, and it’s not only the mobile marketing companies themselves that are talking about it.
Mobile operators, handset makers and even the GSMA (GSM Association) itself have discussed their mobile marketing strategies and perspectives on where the industry is heading. It’s no surprise, given that mobile web adoption is moving eight times faster than it did on the PC.
In his keynote, GSMA CEO Robert Conway talked about 2010 being “the year of the developer.” He cited the growth of apps on Apple’s platform, and in particular, the growth of ad-supported advertising. Using Gartner’s forecast that there will 1.82 billion smartphones by 2013 versus 1.78 billion PCs, Conway said he predicts mobile advertising will grow so quickly that it will outstrip Internet advertising. He also plugged Mobile Media Metrics, a product that GSMA and a task force that includes Telefonica, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 unveiled at Mobile World Congress last year, to help media, advertising agencies, publishers and brands deliver better mobile advertising campaigns.
During his keynote, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, unveiled Google’s new mantra, “Mobile First,” and outlined the Internet giant’s various mobile initiatives, including its notable acquisition of AdMob. He said that three elements now converge on the mobile device – interconnectivity, computing power and the cloud – and he said you need to get all three of these elements right if you want to win.
Google’s AdMob has a presence at Mobile World Congress, as well. CEO Thomas Schultz is at the show.
Meanwhile, European mobile operator Orange announced plans to expand its mobile advertising initiatives to include all of Europe. The company is developing local programs using both SMS and MMS. On the device side, Sony Ericsson introduced its new mobile content creation platform, “Creations,” to get a piece of the mobile marketing action.
To address the needs of app developers, Adobe debuted its new mobile AIR platform to bring unified Flash development to mobile devices.
Once again, Apple is conspicuously absent from the show. Whether an air of hubris or a signal to the world that the company views North America as the only key to its success, Apple and the mobile advertising network it acquired, Quattro Wireless, have let Google steal the mobile advertising limelight at Mobile World Congress.
