Guest Article: Mahesh Narayanan: A WWWirless World!

The mobile device works as the marketing medium, the sales channel, the payment facilitator and a social buzz generator.

I was watching the first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between India and Bangladesh when I suddenly wondered how cool it would be if I could watch it on High Definition (HD). So I picked up my phone and simply searched 'Tata Sky HD' on Google. The first link on the search results page was a Tata Sky mobile search ad explaining the benefits of HD, with a phone number to call.

I simply hit 'call' and the call centre executive convinced me that I should invest in Tata Sky+ HD. I was put through an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu, where I simply entered my credit card details and the transaction was completed! Today, I enjoy the HD experience at home. More importantly, what I really enjoyed was the completely seamless buying experience! This led me to tweet about it.

The interesting aspect in the above example is that the same device worked as the marketing medium, the sales channel, the payment facilitator, and also as a social buzz generator - it was my mobile!

The 3Cs of mobile web growth in India

Cell phones: At the beginning of the last decade, mobile phones were considered a high aspiration lifestyle product, with high flaunt value. And, in Circa 2011, there are more than 700 million mobile phone users in the country and growing ever so fast! Who would have imagined that one would be able to buy a touch screen phone at a sub-Rs 10,000 price point in India? Today, this is a reality. Proliferation of smartphones is leading to great mobile web surfing experiences for mobile users in India.

Connectivity: In late 2009, Aircel - which was one of the newly launched carrier service providers in India then - created a new trend of sorts. It launched unlimited data packs at a price point of Rs 99, which was seemingly easy on the pocket for the man on the street. Soon, every major telecom carrier in India started a big data push. Easy connectivity started propelling mobile web usage in India significantly.

Content: The wide range of content available on the mobile web is making it very interesting for mobile web users. Today, every major telecom carrier and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) has its own applications (apps) store. The array of apps available on these stores is helping them build a loyal consumer base. Content consumption on the mobile web is increasing due to the plethora of content options available today.

Mobile advertising in India

Size of the Pie

Here are some interesting statistics about the mobile market in India:

• There are more than 30 million active mobile web users in India today.

• Google Mobile Search volume grew by 280 per cent, year-on-year in 2010.

• Mobile web traffic on AdMob - the mobile ad network of Google - grew by an amazing 566 per cent in 2010.

Mobile web usage is clearly exploding in India. On the other hand, the approximate size of the mobile advertising market in India was only $7-8 million at the end of 2010, and is expected to grow by about 50 per cent in 2011. Clearly, the size of the 'pie' does not match up to the reach and the unique targeting capabilities that this medium can deliver.

Unique targeting capabilities

A mobile phone provides marketers a wide range of targeting capabilities, making it a very interesting medium:

• Location: Marketers have the unique ability to trigger an ad on mobile search only when the user searches from within a 30-metre radius. For example, I could search for 'Pizza store' on my mobile when I am in Bandra, Mumbai, and the Pizza Hut ad would be triggered only because I am in the 30-metre radius from the store.

• Carrier targeting: Marketers have the opportunity to do carrier specific targetting on the mobile web. This feature is being smartly used by many marketers to run tactical marketing campaigns. For example, I use a Vodafone connection and keep seeing Idea Mobile Number Portability (MNP) ads while surfing various applications on my phone.

• Handset manufacturer and device model targeting: It is actually possible to target users on the basis of the handset manufacturer and the model of the phone. For example, LG Mobile can intelligently target only Nokia and Samsung users to announce the launch of the new LG Optimus mobile phone.

• Operating System (OS) based targeting: App developers can intelligently use the OS based targeting capabilities and display their ads within other applications on the same platform. For example, an Android app developer, who is keen to distribute his app across the globe, can use OS based targeting, and achieve high volumes in real quick time.

• Ad customisation based on handset model: You are surfing the mobile web and see an ad which says 'Banking App for your Nokia N95'. There is a high probability that you would click on the ad and download the app. The medium provides the unique capability to customise ads based on the handset being used by the user!

Growth challenges

There are a few key challenges that are slowing the growth of the mobile advertising market:

• Device and OS complexities: India is still very much a WAP dominated market, with feature phones forming the largest chunk of mobile phones used in the country. There are ad format limitations on WAP that deter brands from jumping onto this new medium.

• Understanding mobile opportunities: It is easier to do what was being done for many years. It takes a brave jump to try something completely different. Most marketers and agencies lack deep understanding of the kind of opportunities that mobiles present today, and prefer to stick to the tried and tested route. Having an online approach to mobile marketing is also a key folly of a lot of advertisers and agencies.

• Too much confusion: The term 'mobile marketing' tends to be used loosely, and consists of various opportunities such as SMS, mobile web, apps, gaming, Bluetooth, IVR, OBDs (outbound dialers), and augmented reality. Every marketer realises the need to start mobile marketing - but, what is the ideal starting point? Build a mobile destination or an app? Which platforms should the app developer aim for? This is a classic dichotomy that every marketer goes through.

The Road Ahead in 2011

Technology and platforms: Creating a mobile destination will be a hygiene factor for every marketer in 2011. There will be a rush to create mobile destinations almost similar to the website development rush back in 2000. XHTML will enhance the WAP experience on feature phones, and HTML 5 will deliver fantastic user experiences on high-end devices going forward. Tablets and other next generation devices would blur the line between the web and the mobile web.

Mobile consumers: From the consumers' point of view, 2011 will be a year for 'More usage, new usage'. Consumers will use the mobile phone much more. With the advent of 3G, we will also see completely new usage patterns emerging. Users will start consuming more video, rich media content and probably teleconferencing using social media platforms!

Mobile marketing: From the marketers' point of view, 2011 will be the 'Figure it out' year. Every marketer will get a deep understanding of the various possibilities and chalk out the most applicable mobile strategies for their own businesses. Marketers would simply create a device screen-customised brand experience. This also means that significantly higher investments will come into mobile marketing.

Mobile payments/commerce: In 2010, eBay clocked global sales of more than $2 billion from mobiles. 2011 is the year we will start seeing the mobile as a driver for commerce in India, as well. I dare say that in the near future, mobile payments will actually have more acceptance and usage than credit cards in India.

(Mahesh Narayanan is country manager, BD, Google India)