Report: Some wireless Web users would accept ads in exchange for content

One-third of wireless Web users in the United States and Western Europe say they will accept ads on their handsets in exchange for free content, according to a study from the Online Publishers Association.
The survey of 6,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, England and the United States found that 76 percent of respondents have devices that can access the mobile Internet, and 32 percent use their phones to get online. Nearly 10 percent of those polled made a purchase based on a wireless Web ad, and 23 percent said they had visited a site after being prompted by an ad.
OPA’s figures contrast with a recent Forrester Research Inc. report, which found that a whopping 79 percent of online consumers are annoyed just by the thought of mobile ads on their phones. But the new study suggests that while users may bristle at some types of mobile marketing-text message campaigns, for instance-they may be far more willing to accept online ads, especially in return for subsidized content and services.
“Consumers in every country are watching mobile ads and large numbers are being compelled to act,” said Pam Horan, president of the OPA. “This is a clear indication that the mobile Web is an effective advertising delivery platform and potentially valuable source of revenue.”
TNS Media and Entertainment partnered with the OPA for the study.