As if we didn’t have to deal with enough advertising these days, ad companies are soon going to bombard the mobile phone user. In fact, many companies have already begun.
“This is the year that advertising breaks out worldwide,” said Laura Marriott, the executive director of the Mobile Marketing Association, based in Boulder, Colo., which represents more than 400 advertisers, phone manufacturers, wireless operators and market research firms. “Previously, there were not enough of the right phones and fast networks to support good advertising.”
One thing that makes the mobile phone market so appealing to advertisers is also what makes it off-limits for those concerned with privacy: the sheer amount of personal information that can be retrieved from a mobile phone. Just what information, you ask?
Carriers know not just where their clients live, but where they are at the moment the ad is seen, how much they spend on phone services, who they call and when, their age and gender, what games and music they play on their handsets — and how to bill them.
Some may argue that if they have to sit through advertisements, they might as well receive ads that cater to their personal preferences. But at the sacrifice of personal privacy, I would say that it just isn’t worth it.
I’ve always asked myself why we have to sit through almost three minutes of TV commercials these days even though we’re paying a hefty price for cable or satellite TV. No matter how much we pay for something, the companies who sell us the services are always finding other ways to drain us of our hard-earned dollar. For instance, several popular video games (which have hit their peak price lately) cannot be fully beaten or unlocked until purchasing scores of online content. Movies, as well as video games, are chock full of advertising also. The only good games that come with a cell phone are the ones that are shareware, cost plenty of money to unlock, AND require you to use the data connection on your phone, which, if you don’t already have a plan for, costs you extra money. I just don’t get it.
There are two instances in which I tolerate advertising:
- the service is free and valuable to me, with the producer’s costs being absorbed by ad revenue
- they are funny ads that make me feel it was worth my time to watch
Other than that, if I’ve already paid for something, please get the ads out of my face.
The good news, for the time being, is that the cell phone advertising seemingly will fit in my exception #1.
The U.S. members of the Mobile Marketing Association — which include Verizon Wireless, Sprint- Nextel, T-Mobile USA and others — have agreed to guidelines that say phone customers will see advertising only after “opting in,” or choosing to receive the ads, usually in return for cheaper or free services
[via TechNewsWorld]
