A company conducting a study on wireless advertising has released preliminary findings suggesting consumers will welcome targeted advertisements sent to wireless devices.
The company, SkyGo Inc., went further by suggesting wireless advertising may act as a catalyst for wireless Internet adoption in general.
The company is conducting a four-month test of more than 1,000 consumers who had wireless ads sent to their wireless devices. SkyGo reported that 60 percent said they found wireless ads valuable, while 27 percent of those said they would switch service providers to continue receiving the ads in the future.
SkyGo conducted the study with participants in Boulder, Colo., who agreed to receive at least three ad alerts a day on their Internet-enabled phones. They were not required to view the ads or use any of the phones’ data functionality. However, more than 90 percent of them said they found it easy to view and navigate the ads delivered, and 65 percent said they have since used the phone to explore other data functions, such as visiting weather, sports and travel sites.
“Consumers have told us that if we deliver marketing messages that are targeted, compelling, convenient and interactive, they will pay attention,” said Daren Tsui, chief executive officer of SkyGo. “By presenting consumers with a compelling proposition, including incentives, to try the Internet capabilities of their phones, we believe our ads may stimulate them to log on to the wireless Web.”
The ads consisted of several different formats, such as engaging the consumer in trivia and instant surveys via two-way messaging to foster brand awareness, sales alerts of time-sensitive updates on special offers targeted to consumer interests and demographics, electronic coupons to redeem at brick-and-mortar stores, incentive ads offering gifts or other promotions along with a purchase and audio ads containing links to music samples or recorded information.
SkyGo added it also is delivering and tracking consumer response to ads that enable a one-click option to buy a product on the spot, send more information to an Internet e-mail account, connect to a retailer’s WAP site or automatically place a phone call to the retailer.
SkyGo said it will continue to track, compare and analyze click-through and action rates, ad recall and user feedback until the trial is over at the end of January.
ConStat, an information technology marketing research and consulting firm, is assisting SkyGo in managing the research and compiling the data for the study. The Kelsey Group also is monitoring the process.
Finally, more than 50 national and local brands and agencies have agreed to assist the study with their own promotions and content. They include Visa, Procter & Gamble, NextCard, Digital Impact, Kinkos, HP Online, eCoupons, JCPenney, CompUSA, KFC, Bolt.com, ESPN.com, Subway, Catalina Marketing and Hollywood.com.
