• USA Today, Thursday, August 10, 2006 11:02 AM

Cell phone users have come to expect seeing ads pasted on their tiny screens--which is a good thing, because mobile phone advertising is only just getting started. Ad campaigns for the personal mobile phone have increased markedly this year, after several years of technology limitations. Mobile network operators have unveiled faster networks, and phone makers are putting bigger, more colorful screens on smaller, lighter phones. Driving the demand is an increase in text messaging--around 30 percent of the 217 million registered mobile phone users send SMS messages, says the Yankee Group--the wireless Web, and video. For advertisers, the younger audience is just one selling point. TV shows are prodding younger viewers to send text messages to vote for their favorite character, and advertisers are buying banner ads alongside sports scores and video ads before news clips. Advertisers also like the fact that mobile phones are always-on, and tethered to targeted individuals who can respond instantly to time-sensitive offers. Although the personal nature of the cell phone makes marketers nervous about turning off mobile subscribers--who pay for their minutes--cell carriers are warming up to the idea that consumers will welcome useful ads, like coupons for nearby restaurants or movie theaters. The Yankee Group says about 42 percent of mobile subscribers are open to mobile advertising if it's relevant. You can be sure marketers will take those kinds of stats and run with them. As the FCC auctions off radio spectrum to corporations interested in wireless technology, the increased network capacity will lead to a faster wireless Web, capable of transmitting more information more quickly to mobile devices that store more data. Expect mobile content and mobile advertising to explode.

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