Mobile Marketing Carries Benefits But Plenty of Risks, Too

Mobile ad spending is poised to grow 27% to $2.1 billion in 2010, according to the Mobile Marketing Assn.

However, there's good news and bad news for marketers who are wading into the mobile marketing wars.

The good newsL The audience for mobile marketing is growing. The bad news: The audience still is relatively small and in a limited segment. Marketers who mobile market to the wrong consumer group risk turning them off, not on, according to an analysis of BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Usage Survey of over 22,000 consumers.

Consumers who like mobile marketing tend to be young men who are cell phone-centered and likely to use social media.

Those who don't like mobile marketing tend to be slightly older women who are not as centered on their cell phones or use social media.

Since June of 2008, the percentage of people who don't like mobile marketing has increased: 66.8% don't like text ads (vs. 63.5 in 2008), 60.2% don't like voicemail ads (vs. 56.8% in last year) and 59.6% don't like video ads (vs. 56.1% in 2008).

The percentage of people has also increased for those who say marketers need permission prior to sending an ad (58% vs. 55.6% in 2008) and those who think they are an invasion of privacy (52.1% vs. 49.5% in last year).

“Marketers are excited about the potential of mobile marketing, but they need to beware,” says Gary Drenik of a BIGResearch.

“Cell phones are perceived by consumers as a very personal form of media and unwanted messaging could be interpreted as an invasion of privacy,” he says. “There is a risk in the mobile space of turning consumers off and have a negative impact on ROI.”