Mobile advertising in its infancy in India, is emerging as the biggest competitor to internet advertising. It might even cannibalize mobile advertising, states a new study by global analysis firm Thomas Weisel International.India’s online advertising is expected to reach an inflection point by 2009-end — a time when mobile advertising is predicted to grow at a scorching pace.
The convenience and ubiquitous nature of a mobile phone — known as the third screen after the TV and computer — is driving its growth in the country. Customized advertisement will drive growth of this segment.
The personalization of an advertisement (eg. a mobile user can be accessed depending on his monthly bills) will enable advertisers to send him the right content.
Internet advertising, which contributes 1.8 per cent of the country’s total advertising spend, stands at $75 million (around Rs 30 crore). It is slated to rise by 3.1 per cent in the financial year 2008-09 and by 7.1 per cent in the financial year 2010-11.
The current online mobile advertising market in India, on the other hand, is estimated to be just $1.5 million (around Rs 0.6 crore). It includes broadcast SMS, brand jingles as caller ringback tones (CRBT), product placements in mobile phone games and banner advertisements on Internet-accessed through mobile phones.
However, while the country is adding around 7.5 million (both CDMA and GSM) mobiles per month, taking the total number to 208 million, Internet users in India stand at just around 35-40 million. Since the industry is in its infancy, growth numbers are hard to come by.
The cellular growth in India is faster than that of personal computer penetration and this will result in huge opportunities for advertisers. The emergence of high-end handsets and portable devices would also result in advertisements moving away from the internet”.
Source: Agencyfaqs via Business Standard
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