• by Wayne Friedman , March 19, 2007

There's good news for mobile phone advertisers. A solid portion of digital consumers will accept all the advertising thrown at them--provided they get free stuff. A recent Harris Interactive study said a survey of nearly 1,000 mobile phone users in early February showed that a surprising 35% of consumers are okay with cell phone ads, as long as there is an incentive attached.

What's the best one?

A staggering 78% said cold hard cash. Almost as important was free cell minutes. This achieved a 63% approval rate. Free entertainment downloads, such as ring tones and games, got the thumbs up from 40% of the survey. Consumers also like discount coupons.

According to 56% of the survey, the best way to get an advertiser's message is via a text message. Some 40% said a picture message would also be acceptable. Less acceptable methods include video messages, which only met with a 24% endorsement. Scraping the barrel of ad methods were email and voice messages.

For those adults who are somewhat receptive to mobile ads, advertisers should be aware of three key concerns: They want they ability to opt-out, and to choose the type of ad seen and how many times it is sent to their cell phone.