Nokia Siemens Networks

Swedish operators unite

Sweden’s top four mobile operators have joined forces to help promote mobile advertising. 

Four Swedish mobile operators -- Tele2, Telia, Telenor and 3 Sweden -- have launched a mobile marketing initiative to help simplify and improve mobile advertising standards and ad tracking in their country.

The deal is similar to another made in September between four mobile operators in the UK. The two deals effectively create a model that other operators in other markets may begin to imitate.

According to the terms of the Swedish deal, operators will jointly offer advertising space on their mobile portals, thus making it easier for agencies and their clients to optimise mobile campaigns to increase awareness of their brands and promotions.

The mobile marketing initiative defines a common standard and guidelines for mobile advertising in Sweden, sets up a comprehensive measurement system in accordance with the GSM Mobile Advertising Program and paves the way for crossover promotions on all four networks.

Each operator will also continue to sell its own ad space.

In the UK, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and 3 created an organization – the Internet Advertising Bureau – which among other things is tasked with linking marketers to internet sites explaining the benefits of mobile advertising.

In the press release announcing the UK deal the IAB said a survey towards the end of 2007 with forty senior-level marketers found that mobile advertising was viewed the way internet advertising was in 2000 - lacking standards, measurement systems and case studies to support the medium.

Rapidly changing landscape

Standardizing ad formats and tracking capabilities makes perfect sense for mobile operators anxious to capitalize on the substantial revenues they foresee for mobile advertising in the near future. Both the UK and Sweden have based their programs on GSM association guidelines designed to make it easy for operators to implement.

This raises an interesting question. How will the advertising market change when all countries adopt a standard mobile advertising format?  And how much do operators stand to gain from this sea change?