• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 3, 2008

AT&T has quietly agreed to support a marketing service that lets advertisers design mobile phone campaigns that link two-dimensional print ads, billboards and product packaging with interactive digital media. Other U.S. carriers--Verizon and T-Mobile--are expected to follow suit, according to sources close to the project.

The service relies on an ordinary cell phone with photo capability and sophisticated image recognition software designed by Mobot, a mobile visual search company in Lexington, Mass. Consumers take a picture of any traditional two-dimensional ad, product package, or logo and send it by multimedia message (MMS) or a picture message to Mobot.

Ads with a straightforward call-to-action would best engage consumers with the brand, setting off the impulse to snap a photo or send a text message to get a response. The MMS or picture message connects the consumer with the digital media that support the product or the ad, such as microsites, audio and/or video clips, coupons and free samples.

The service doesn't require consumers to download software onto their phones or to send a short code message. The eye-catching messages and unique images stored in a database managed by Mobot make it easier for the technology to match and recognize objects.

Scientists at MIT and the University of British Columbia, among others, developed the image-recognition technology that Mobot founder and CEO Russell Gocht licensed to develop the advertising platform. "Computer vision has been in the research lab for 30 years," he told Marketing Daily at CTIA on Tuesday. "Some of the technology we use has been used for circuit board inspection, very high-end industrial applications."

More than 896 million mobile phones with cameras should ship this year--up from 748 million in 2007, according to El Segundo research firm iSuppli. About 112 million mobile phones could likely have a second camera, one for video and the other for still photos.

Between September and December 2007, 55% of mobile subscribers reported using a camera phone, actually taking a picture, up from 42% during the same period in 2006, according to The NPD Group.

Founded in 2003, Mobot launched an advertising and marketing platform in the U.S. four years ago, but the concept never really took off. Then, rather than send the photo to a short code and have a reliable connection with a carrier, Mobot used an email backchannel--ad hoc connections to the carrier through email. Gocht took the concept overseas and began marketing services in Europe and Asia. Now Mobot uses approved MMS connections through carriers, and the service appears to have gained traction.

A recent social awareness campaign for the United Nations in the UK demonstrates how consumers interact with ads. They snap a photo from a series of print and outdoor ads called "Hear My Story" and MMS it to Mobot. In return, they get an audio account of the person's story.

Similarly, marketing posters for "The Bourne Ultimatum" in Australia alluded to downloading everything to miss nothing. It provided an audio message from Jason Bourne sent to the consumer's cell phone.