Mobile marketing tipped to go mainstream

Businesses are expected to spend more on mobile marketing in the next few years by the majority of agencies and advertisers, a new poll has revealed.

About 115 executives were surveyed by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Mobile Council, 62 per cent of whom said they believed mobile marketing expenditure will rise over the next two years.

Respondents said that this can be primarily attributed to the mobile medium's highly measurable nature. Despite this, three-quarters of those polled said they needed more education about the channel.

"Expectations for mobile advertising are high but actual understanding is low. The industry needs to address measurement, effectiveness and benchmarks if mobile advertising is going to reach a tipping point by 2010," commented editor of MobiAdNews and chair of the IAB Mobile Council Jim Cook.

Spending on mobile marketing by some of the biggest UK brands is expected to increase threefold in the next five years, according to a recent study conducted by Vanson Bourne for mobile operator O2.