Nokia Corp. is taking steps to become a more competitive player in mobile advertising, with an announcement last week that it would partner with Handmark for an end-to-end mobile solution for the latter’s Pocket Express application.
Google Inc.’s announcement of an Open Handset Alliance on Nov. 5-yet another effort to bring a license-free, Linux-based operating system to market-has been interpreted by many to provide a platform for the search giant’s long-term, mobile advertising play.
Thus, positioning, if not outright competition at this stage, is nigh.
According to Mike Baker, head of Nokia Ad Business as a result of the handset giant’s purchase of Baker’s Enpocket last month, the more the merrier.
“Google and Nokia are not currently competitive, although both are consumer-centric companies seeking to provide a successful user experience,” Baker said. “Any company that can grow the market is a net positive for the industry. We’re not fighting for market share at this point because the mobile advertising space is in its infancy.”
Sanctity of user experience
Perhaps Baker can afford to be magnanimous. Google has many steps to take and hurdles to overcome to gain a ubiquitous presence on a global audience’s handsets. In contrast, Nokia already has a well-recognized brand in the mobile world, sells nearly 40% of the world’s handsets and half of all smartphones. Its acquisition of music, mapping and other content plays in the past year could dovetail well with mobile advertising efforts, which face their own hurdles.
Network operators, as the face of wireless service, are sensitive to anything intrusive on their subscribers. Once mobile advertising takes hold, operators also may want to participate in the expected revenue stream. According to Baker, Nokia will tread carefully as it approaches this potential goldmine.
“We’ve all seen some unseemly approaches taken online,” said Baker. “Nokia, above all, is interested in the sanctity of the user experience.”
According to Nokia’s news last week, Nokia will bring ad serving and media sales to its partnership with Handmark. Handmark will leverage the Nokia Ad Platform to serve ads in its Pocket Express mobile service. The latter delivers high-income, mobile professionals, Nokia said.
“Pocket Express (delivers) a very desirable audience for advertisers,” said Douglas Edwards, co-founder and chief marketing officer for Handmark, in a statement accompanying Nokia’s announcement. “We are able to offer advertisers a unique opportunity to reach this attractive demographic on their most personal device.”
Nokia ad initiatives
In late October, Nokia Ad Business announced that Land Rover-one of the longest-lived and high-end SUV brands, now owned by Ford Motor Co.-was using its platform. Selected users are served banner ads on carrier-grade media that encourage them to click through to a mobile Web site to learn about Land Rover’s LR3 model. Visitors can download videos of the LR3 in action. More importantly, they can enter a zip code to learn of nearby dealerships.
The high conversion rate of visitors to the Web site who end up visiting a Land Rover showroom is one of the benefits of targeting the ads to a selected demographic, according to Nokia.
These early efforts helped Nokia prove the value proposition of mobile advertising, Baker said.
“There’s a lot of noise in the marketplace-experimental business models,” said Baker. “We’re in a period of experimentation. The beauty of mobile, with Nokia’s solution, is that you can take an ad campaign around the world on one platform.”
The PC, for instance, Baker pointed out, is not a widespread device.
“Nokia will make it easier for a company to use mobile advertising, test it, measure it and solve sales problems,” according to Baker.
