• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, June 12, 2008

The idea of advertising as a key revenue stream doesn't come naturally to telecom and wireless giants, admitted media and ad executives from a pair of wireless operators at an industry conference on Wednesday.

Jordan Berman, executive director of media innovation for AT&T Mobility, likened the task of introducing ad-supported media at a carrier to a speedboat trying to turn around a tanker.

Even so, he and Stephanie Bauer, who leads mobile advertising at Verizon Wireless, assured attendees at the Mobile Marketing Forum the companies were advancing with ad initiatives.

"Advertising is something completely different from what telcos are used to," said Bauer, who shared a panel with Berman. "We're trailblazing, and sometimes that can be a painful process, but we're getting through it and trying to help brands and advertisers" buy on mobile media.

Both executives emphasized mobile as part of an integrated media campaign--a theme heard throughout the two-day conference run by the Mobile Marketing Association. More specifically, they each outlined a three-pronged attack with regard to mobile marketing.

Verizon takes a "three screen" approach, spanning its mobile data service, digital FiOS TV offering, and high-speed Internet connection. She cited Burger King's "Whopper Freakout" campaign, created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, as an example of a promotional effort coordinated across all three platforms.

The mobile piece, which involved branded video-on-demand content through Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV service, "can be used to enhance or activate other types of media," Bauer said.

Similarly, Berman outlined a wireless strategy encompassing mobile display ads, a direct-response element such as a bar code or text shortcode, and some form of branded content or utility, whether an m-commerce site, coupon or a contest, to which consumers are driven.

Berman pointed to a Valentine's Day promotion developed for 1-800-Flowers that involved creating a specialized on-deck WAP site from which visitors could send "virtual bouquets" to their sweethearts. The campaign also included SMS-text reminders about upcoming occasions such as Mother's Day and a Valentine's Day-themed sweepstakes.

The effort helped increase Valentines Day-related sales more than 160% on 1-800-Flowers' mobile site compared to the prior year and boosted traffic 1,500%, said Berman (without disclosing actual figures).

Unlike Verizon, AT&T has yet to offer banner ads directly on its mobile deck, but plans to introduce that display inventory in the fourth-quarter. A portion of that inventory will be sold by Yahoo, as well as by partners not yet announced, Berman said.

Does that mean AT&T is behind the curve on mobile advertising? "We want to come out of the gate right, rather than first," Berman said. "The money and the ecosystem is still so small right now, it's not like we've missed any big opportunities. If anything, it allows us to learn from some of the other players out there, what they've done right and what they haven't."

Berman said 2008 was the "year of the pilot" for AT&T as it tested different types of advertising formats and media initiatives in order to settle on the best models for monetizing the mobile phone beyond subscriptions.

Not surprisingly, he and his Verizon counterpart also touted the upside to advertising on carrier portals as opposed to off-deck mobile sites. Bauer said internal Verizon research had shown that people had higher recall and intent-to-purchase rates from on-deck compared to off-deck ads.

Berman also noted the carrier decks still account for the vast majority of mobile site traffic, and that operators can use the wealth of subscriber data they have to target ads more precisely than off-deck sites or ad networks. "We have great inventory, reach and targeting capabilities," he said.

Nevertheless, Berman encouraged marketers to get involved in mobile advertising through any avenue.