Verizon To Push Ads to Mobile Phones

By Geoff Duncan December 27, 2006

A well-known aphorism says “Don’t shoot the messenger”—but when the messenger is charging you by the byte, it can be awfully tempting.

A report in the New York Times (subscription required) indicates Verizon Wireless plans to begin pushing banner advertisements with its mobile data services. Under the program, user of the company’s news, sports, and weather services—as well as other Internet sites visited by mobile users—will begin seeing advertisements as part of the mobile service.

According to the story, Verizon will apparently tread carefully into the mobile ad arena, excluding data-intensive animations and video clips and limiting where advertisements can appear. Advertisers interest in putting messages on mobile screen apparently extends from the “theory” that, since mobile devices are ofte important components of individuals’ day-to-day lives, ads appearing on them will create a “particularly intimate” bond with customers. And, in theory, ads could be tailored to a mobile user’s location, age, gender, and another demographic characteristics, since mobile providers have all that information at their disposal.

Verizon is not alone in offering mobile ads: Sprint began allowing advertisements to appear in its on-screen menus (or, “decks”) alongside content from its partners. Mobile phone service “decks” are considered prime real-estate for mobile advertisements, since they’re integrated into mobile service offerings. While advertisers have been promoting products and services via off-deck Internet sites and mobile services, users first have to find those services and configure their phones to access them. With on-deck advertisements, the messages are carried by the mobile operators themselves, and display to customers without any extra actions on their part.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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