Surfing the wireless Web can be downright painful.
More than two-thirds of all U.S. adults access the Internet from personal computers, according to a recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and 70 million Americans were logging onto the Web every day by the end 2004.
But only 14 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers use the Web browser on their handsets, according to M:Metrics. While carriers struggle to boost data revenues to shore up declining voice margins, many consumers are finding that handset limitations, confining carrier decks and network latency issues can make using the mobile Internet an arduous task.
Marketing companies may be throwing one more hurdle in the way with “interstitial” advertisements. The pop-ups-which are generally defined as full-page messages that are presented during a wireless Internet session-typically require a user to “click through” to access content or information. The messages add another tier to carrier decks, which often have more layers than baklava. Operators that generate ad revenue from such marketing tactics may find themselves alienating wireless Web surfers in the long run, according to Thomas Burgess, chief executive officer of Third Screen Media.
“In general, interstitial (marketing) is not very user-friendly and should only be used when content is being offered to the subscriber for free,” according to Burgess. Instead of full-page pop-ups that add yet another click to the process, Massachusetts-based Third Screen uses banners and text links that are integrated into content, allowing users to ignore the ads or click on them for more information.
“The only instance where interstitial may be acceptable (is) in free MMS messages/alerts,” Burgess said.
Others see interstitial marketing as a sure-fire method of placing a brand in front of a user’s face. ESPN is leveraging prime placement on Verizon Wireless’ deck by presenting full-page marketing messages from fast-food chains and automakers to users who access its site. Verizon declined interview requests from RCR Wireless News for this story.
The controversy surrounding interstitial marketing highlights a key difference between wired and wireless Internet platforms. PC users generally pay a flat rate for unlimited Internet access, including data-heavy file transfers. And pop-ups can be less intrusive on a computer, where users often have several windows open at a time and can quickly and easily eliminate most advertisements.
But mobile Web surfers generally use a single window and drilling through an interstitial ad can be time-consuming. Also, wireless users generally pay a monthly charge for Internet access in addition to the amount of data consumed or minutes spent online-meaning, in effect, consumers are paying to sit through an advertisement. Worse, because wireless Internet servers are sometimes inaccessible, a consumer could log on and drill through an ad only to find the desired content unavailable.
“It’s basically a fundamental change in the dynamic,” said Jim Ryan, Cingular’s vice president of consumer data services. “(In wireless) the customer is footing the bill for the service, so you’ve got to be careful. … Internet companies want to carry over their marketing models, especially in the early state of this business, but it’s quite dangerous.”
While a single additional tier on the content deck may not seem like a substantial obstacle, it can easily add 10 to 15 seconds to an Internet session. A usability report from Norman Nielsen Group several years ago found that consumers are unlikely to discover content that is more than 30 seconds from the portal home page.
“I think, certainly, the risk of interstitial advertising on mobile is that (the wireless Web) is a little bit of a challenging user experience to begin with,” said Mike Baker, president and chief operations officer of Enpocket, a Boston-based mobile marketing firm. “If you’re adding an additional click to the path of a user, there’s a good chance you might lose the consumer. Drop-off rates of 50 percent per click are not uncommon.”
Baker said interstitial ads have been effective in Japan but have failed to gain traction elsewhere. Fearful of alienating subscribers, operators are monitoring their content providers closely to determine both the efficacy and dangers of interstitial campaigns. Mobile and Internet marketing companies are working to soften interstitial ads by making them less intrusive and more targeted.
Mobile Phone Applications (Mophap) Inc., a New York-based mobile marketer, said its interstitial ads appear only when users move between Web pages. Users can click on the message to access more information about a product or service, or can wait as the requested page downloads. The company maintains that its proprietary system ensures the content arrives in the same amount of time it would without advertising. Mophap technology also determines which ads to send to specific users based on subscriber profiles and other information.
The Mobile Marketing Association has established guidelines for mobile Web banners, but has yet to address interstitial advertising, according to Executive Director Laura Marriott. “Interstitials will become a focus for the group,” Marriott said, “but are not an immediate priority.”
Third Screen’s Burgess said he expects to see ad-supported MMS next year, delivering free news, weather, sports and other content to users who are willing to sit through commercials on their handsets. But as carriers deploy state-of-the-art applications with a growing number of content providers and media partners, it will be increasingly difficult for them to monitor each marketing effort over their networks.
“It’s hard to monitor everything all the time,” noted Ryan, who said he was unaware of any interstitial-related complaints from Cingular customers. “I think in this country, practically speaking, the first and foremost thing we need to do is to provide great service, and many times advertising gets in the way of that.”
