Nokia Spells Out Mobile Ad Plans

Nokia has announced how the advertising on its content-sharing Mosh network will work, reports ClickZ.

Mosh will allow people to upload content to profiles that can be shared with friends via mobile devices. Content can be uploaded either directly from a mobile device, or through the web.

Banner advertising on mobile sites will, of course, be contextually relevant to the content they appear with. So if a group of movie fans is constantly uploading homemade reviews, the likelihood is high movie-related ads will populate that group.

Nokia will start off selling the ads in-house, but has not ruled out partnering with an ad network. These could include mobile firm Enpocket, which Nokia acquired just last month.

Video-Enabled Portable Media Players to Outsell Audio-Only in '08

Driven by increased broadband penetration, declining price points and a growing catalogue of online audio and video content, the market for MP3 players and portable media players (PMPs) will remain strong over the next five years, In-Stat forecasts.

Nevertheless, the main reason that consumers are purchasing portable MP3 players and video-capable PMPs today is the devices' audio playback capability, In-Stat said.

"Only 11 percent of survey respondents say they will purchase a PMP primarily for its video playback function," said Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst. "Still, the cost of incorporating video into portable devices continues to decline. As a result, In-Stat expects shipment growth of video-enabled PMPs to outpace that of audio-only MP3 players by the end of 2008."

Among the findings of In-Stat's research, "Worldwide Demand Remains Strong for MP3 and Portable Media Players":

* Worldwide unit shipments for audio-only MP3 players and PMPs combined will reach 275 million units in 2011, up from 182 million in 2006.

* Of the 2,408 respondents to In-Stat's latest survey of US consumers, 52 percent own an MP3 player or other PMP.

In-Stat said it does not expect music-enabled cell phone shipments to soon displace dedicated PMP/MP3 player shipments, but it forecast an opportunity for cell phone manufacturers to capture consumers who are considering cheap, audio-only MP3 players.

The Time is Now for Mobile Technology

Mobile marketing is building momentum because the early adopters are increasingly working out what does and doesn't work in this sector, reports MediaWeek.

The functionality and scale of mobile marketing is coming in line with marketer expectations, resulting in a sudden and dramatic influx of dollars to the medium.

Users, too, are beginning to give mobile ads a second look. Devices have better functionality than they did some years ago, and display ads aren't quite as cumbersome to view, which previously held down acceptance rates. The spate of acquisitions and mergers has also created the sort of scale marketers need to make a significant buy.

Mobile remains a relatively small platform, with just $421 million spent there by marketers in 2006. That figure, however, is expected to reach $4.8 billion by 2011.