SMS Ads Takes Off In Europe

Submitted by Mike Grenville on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:10


Text messaging is being increasingly used for advertising according to M:Metrics research. However Spaniards who receive the most messages have the lowest response rate and Americans who receive the least number of messages have the highest response rate.

Text-based mobile advertising is nearly ubiquitous in Europe, with as many as three out of four mobile subscribers reporting they received an ad via SMS in the month of July, reports M:Metrics, the mobile media authority. The measurement firm also found that while the volume of SMS ads is lowest in the United States, with only 17.2 percent of Americans receiving them, it also shows the strongest response rate, at 12 percent. However, with the exception of Germany and Italy, advertisements that did not come from the respondent’s mobile operator were from companies that did not have permission to contact them.

“Certainly the level of interaction is impressive compared to almost any advertising vehicle available today” commented Evan Neufeld, senior analyst, M:Metrics. “It is undeniable that text-based mobile advertising is both a highly prevalent and an extremely effective medium for engaging customers.”

Text-Based Mobile Advertising, by Country: July 2007
Received Percent subscribers Percent responding
Country SMS Ad receiving SMS ad to SMS ad

France 27,743,916 62.3% 7.6%

Germany 15,089,753 32.5% 5.7%

Italy 25,567,895 56.8% 8.0%

Spain 24,122,581 75.4% 6.1%

United Kingdom 18,648,786 41.4% 9.2%

United States 36,671,828 17.2% 12.0%
Source: M:Metrics Copyright © 2007. Survey of mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 12,728 French, n= 16,127 German, n= 13,696 Italian, n= 12,921 Spanish, n= 15,834 UK, n= 32,824 US.

Despite the high levels of response, the majority of the SMS ads that did not originate from mobile operators were from companies that did not have permission to contact consumers, respondents said. The lion’s share—fully 73 percent—of consumers across all geographies said the ads are coming from their mobile service provider. Overall, only 17.5 percent of subscribers advertised to said they received an ad from a company to whom they had given permission, while 21.1 percent reported they were contacted by a company that did not have permission to advertise to them. Germany and Italy were the exception, with 22.6 percent of Italians having received ads from a company with permission versus 9.8 percent without. In Germany, 23.5 percent had received opt-in SMS ads and 19.9 percent received ads from other sources.

“The early days of SMS advertising are similar to the advent of e-mail, which was initially a very effective, high conversion advertising platform,” said Neufeld. “However, e-mail’s value decreased over time because of over messaging and spam. Hopefully, the personal nature of the mobile phone will be a barrier against marketers killing the goose that lays the golden egg by taking a similar tack. It is not coincidental that the marketplace with the highest prevalence of SMS ads--Spain--also has the lowest level of response, as it is natural to see interaction with ads dip as the novelty factor wears off. The trick is to keep interaction as high as possible by keeping the messages targeted, having them come from trusted partners and capping frequency of communication.”

Overall, consumers in the six countries responded most to advertisements for mobile-phone related product and services (either mobile downloads or service plans) and for news and information or entertainment-related services.

Below are the findings of its July Benchmark Survey.

Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications
M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: July 2007
France
Activity Subscribers Percent Percent Change
(1000s)
Sent Text Message 32,585 73.2% 1.6%

Used Photo Messaging 10,185 22.9% 2.2%

Used Personal E-Mail 2,593 5.8% 0.9%

Purchased Ringtone 1,848 4.2% -5.9%

Used Mobile IM 1,428 3.2% 6.2%

Used Work E-Mail 878 2.0% -6.1%

Purchased Wallpaper
or Screensaver 760 1.7% -2.3%

Downloaded Mobile Game 628 1.4% 2.2%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of French mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 12,728

Germany

Activity Subscribers Percent Percent Change
(1000s)
Sent Text Message 37,422 80.5% 0.6%

Used Photo Messaging 10,109 21.7% 0.2%

Used Personal E-Mail 2,604 5.6% 2.4%

Purchased Ringtone 2,120 4.6% -2.4%

Used Mobile IM 1,562 3.4% 1.4%

Used Work E-Mail 1,403 3.0% 6.8%

Downloaded Mobile Game 1,197 2.6% -4.3%

Purchased Wallpaper
or Screensaver 958 2.1% -0.1%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of German mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 16,127

Italy
Activity Subscribers Percent Percent Change
(1000s)

Sent Text Message 38,281 85.1% -0.9%

Used Photo Messaging 13,882 30.8% 0.9%

Used Personal E-Mail 4,038 9.0% 1.2%

Used Mobile IM 2,534 5.6% -1.6%

Used Work E-Mail 2,255 5.0% -2.8%

Purchased Ringtone 1,816 4.0% -12.5%

Downloaded Mobile Game 1,242 2.8% -10.1%

Purchased Wallpaper
or Screensaver 1,054 2.3% -9.5%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of Italian mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 13,696

Spain
Activity Subscribers Percent Percent Change
(1000s)

Sent Text Message 26,898 84.1% 0.1%

Used Photo Messaging 10,107 31.6% 0.3%

Used Personal E-Mail 2,755 8.6% 2.6%

Used Mobile IM 2,078 6.5% 4.0%

Purchased Ringtone 1,732 5.4% -4.0%

Used Work E-Mail 1,676 5.2% 0.8%

Downloaded Mobile Game 1,537 4.8% 2.4%

Purchased Wallpaper
or Screensaver 720 2.3% 7.1%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of Spanish mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 12,921

UK
Activity Subscribers Percent Percent Change
(1000s)

Sent Text Message 38,978 86.6% 0.0%

Used Photo Messaging 13,709 30.5% 2.9%

Used Personal E-Mail 3,445 7.7% 7.1%

Used Mobile IM 2,285 5.1% 1.6%

Downloaded Mobile Game 2,161 4.8% -0.6%

Used Work E-Mail 1,808 4.0% 4.9%

Purchased Ringtone 1,721 3.8% 1.6%

Purchased Wallpaper
or Screensaver 839 1.9% -1.9%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 15,834

USA
Activity Subscribers Percent Percent Change
(1000s)
Sent Text Message 89,740 42.1% 1.2%

Used Photo Messaging 38,291 18.0% 2.7%

Purchased Ringtone 19,529 9.2% -2.4%

Used Personal E-Mail 19,064 9.0% -1.0%

Used Mobile IM 13,949 6.5% -1.9%

Used Work E-Mail 11,119 5.2% -2.1%

Downloaded Mobile Game 6,932 3.3% 0.3%

Purchased Wallpaper
or Screensaver 6,311 3.0% -6.2%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2007. Survey of U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n= 32,824

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