I’m still dubious about the effectiveness of mobile advertising, but Google (NSDQ: GOOG) AdSense, a heavyweight in the online advertising ring, has announced support for iPhone and Android applications. The big key to AdSense is properly targeting the audience, and since Google has pretty much your whole search history on file, odds are they can usually feed you ads that are actually interesting and relevant. Support for mobile will not only take into account keywords that you’re using with the app, but also your location pulled from integrated GPS.

My guess is ads will be even more accurate on Android since it requires your Google account credentials to work, and will be able to tap a wider array of your interests. It strikes me this is really good for free apps with a lot of users that are looking for a viable revenue model without going premium. Good news for developers, bad news for end-users who have been enjoying these apps ad-free until now. If you’re either a developer or a marketer, you can find more info at Google’s dedicated AdSense for Mobile Apps page.

[via Official Google Blog]

A bit of surprising news has hit the interwebs today regarding the Canadian Do-Not-Call list.

This master list of phone numbers was launched by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission back in September to stop telemarketers from making unwanted calls. Canadian citizens could/can simply go to this website and enter their phone information. The information would be added to the list, and within 30 days a noticable difference should be seen in the number of unwanted calls from telemarketers soliciting various goods and services. Telemarketers are required to subscribe to the list in Canada, and are made to pay an annual fee based on the number of times they update their list throughout the year. Calling a registrant on the list could mean a fine of up to $15,000 per call. In theory it sounds great, but apparently there are some areas of concern regarding the application of the list.

In a report from the CBC, the Consumers’ Association of Canada President Bruce Cran noted that the list is actually having the opposite effect:

“It’s a travesty…Here we have all these people thinking they were getting rid of incoming phone calls. Anyone who is registered should suspect their phone number is being broadcast to the four winds.”

Cran goes on to explain that the CRTC is selling the registry list online, making numbers on the list readily available to anyone:

“In Toronto, you can get 600,000 names for $50…”

Oh my. My home and cell number is published on this list. Uh oh. Numerous businesses and citizens have noted that the number of unwanted calls they have received has actually gone up since adding their digits to the do-not-call list. What gives?

Speaking from my own personal experience, the Canadian ‘Do Not Call’ List has been a success for me. I registered right when the service became available (along with millions of other Canadians), and received what I was promised… The telemarketing calls stopped coming about a month later. I used to get 3 to 4 calls a day (VERY annoying), but now, I get maybe one a week. If the facts here are for real, I guess all Canadians may have to expect the number of telemarketing annoyances to slowly build-up over the coming year. Lets hope policies will change or something else is done to nip this in the bud.

Is it the National-Do-Not-Call List, or the National Do-Not-Care List? I’m beginning to wonder. The wheels are now in motion to put extensive pressure on the CRTC to get things back on track.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Millennial Media, Inc., the industry’s largest and fastest-growing mobile advertising networks company, and luxury lifestyle fashion brand Stella McCartney today announced their collaboration to develop and introduce a distinctive mobile advertising campaign for holiday shoppers throughout North America.

The campaign, which continues through the end of January 2009, represents the fashion designer’s first foray into mobile marketing. In addition, the initiative plays a critical role in the company’s holiday-focused integrated marketing efforts, which also include print and online advertising, direct mail, in-store, point-of-purchase signage, channel marketing, and public relations programs.

Created and implemented exclusively by Millennial Media, the campaign seeks to build awareness and consumer interest for the Stella McCartney spring and summer 2009 collections, while concurrently establishing a significant presence for the Stella McCartney brand on the mobile Web. The collections feature pieces with Stella McCartney’s signature style of sharp tailoring, natural confidence, and sexy femininity. The effort is specifically targeted at modern and style-conscious shoppers.

For the launch of the campaign, a series of distinctive banner advertisements will be prominently placed on various mobile Web sites within Millennial Media’s premium mobile advertising network. This network is the largest in the U.S. with over three billion monthly impressions across more than 2,000 quality sites.

As consumers visit news and information sites on the mobile Web, they may click on any Stella McCartney banner to be immediately transported into an interactive fashion experience that closely replicates window shopping via a mobile device. When at the mobile Web site, located at http://lp.mydas.mobi/custom/stella/iphone/index.php for iPhones, and at http://lp.mydas.mobi/custom/stella/index.php for all other smartphones, a user then selects the Stella McCartney collection she wishes to explore. The user is then directed to a mobile fashion show, a series of look books which showcase each item in the collection. The user may then click on a specific design or accessory for a closer, detailed look.

In addition, the initiative offers shoppers an easy-to-use mobile store locator to pinpoint the closest Stella McCartney retail location, and a feature for subscribing to future news and information updates from the Stella McCartney brand.

Two-time Academy Award-winning actor and director Kevin Spacey will headline at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress (16-19 February 2009) in Barcelona, as host of the
MOFILM Mobile Short Film Festival and mobile entertainment keynote speaker.

For your chance to meet Kevin Spacey go to the MOFILM stand in Hall 7 C42 or register for the Mobile Backstage Event on Thursday 19th of February.

[Via: MOFILM]

BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM)-maker Research in Motion had initiated a takeover of nearby security firm Certicom last week, but Certicom’s senior management is none too happy about it.

“It is however the preliminary view of Certicom’s special committee that the timing and the approach of the RIM offer are highly opportunistic, and it believes that RIM’s offer clearly undervalues Certicom,” the company said of the offer that values Certicom at $66 million.

Shareholders might agree, since their stock price has spiked to $1.43 from $0.83 before the offer, but that may turn right around if the takeover bid doesn’t go through. A previous announcement, Certicom said they’re looking into alternatives, but we haven’t heard much from other interested parties. It would certainly be interesting if another manufacturer swooped in and outbid RIM, leaving them high and dry with one less partner to work with. Other acquisitions, like Chalk’s, have gone through relatively painlessly, but we’re left to wonder if RIM really is being opportunistic about the economic downturn. Maybe a few more buyouts are on the way…

[via Canadian Press]

As mobile phone penetration rates steadily increase around the world, with smartphones leading the rush, advertisers are embracing the mobile space. The latest entrant into the mobile advertising game is Fring.

With Fring clients peppering mobile phones across the globe, Fring serves up instant message and VoIP calling services countless times per day. Fring has gained a strong following among iPhone, Symbian, and Windows Mobile users around the world, but has remained largely ad-free… until now.

In a bid to capitalize on all those eyes viewing Fring clients, Fring has announced a new advertising trial program that will splash banners across select Fring clients. The new monetization strategy will have Fring using advertisements to help avoid passing on costs to the user.

Says Fring:

We wanted to give you the heads-up, as you may soon see small clickable advertising banners in the fring chat window, beneath the chat itself. Clicking the ad will open your browser and take you to the advertiser’s site; you may even find extra special offers, cool promos & other nice surprises behind the click from time to time And, more clicks mean happy advertisers; and happy advertisers mean more resources for us to develop cool new stuff for you to play with in fring!

So, if you happen to see a new mobile advertisement in your Fring client, you might want to go ahead and give it a click.

[Via: TalkingMobile]

On the 29th of October, 100 of Europe’s toughest and craziest music fans will embark on the biggest FanWalk in music history, the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) FanWalk to the MTV Europe Music Awards ‘08. Together, they journey the 400 kilometres from London to Liverpool (October 29th to November 6th), to be at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008!

Don’t miss out on the fun and adventure! Follow the FanWalkers on their journey on www.fanwalk.tv and you could also WIN great prizes such as cool Sony Ericsson music phones and accessories!

Sounds crazy doesn’t it, but you’ve got to give it to Sony Ericsson for innovative marketing campaigns - there is some serious advertising exposure going on there, and having been to previous events of theirs, I am sure it will be incredibly well-organised. Sony Ericsson rocks (literally) !!

Major brands in the financial services, retail, and maunfacturing sectors will invest heavily in Mobile Marketing in the next 5 years, says UK OpCo Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) O2 (NYSE: TEF).

Apparently two-thirds of businesses state that mobile marketing campaigns generate a higher response rate than traditional methods, due to the personalisation/targeting element. Interestingly, 88% of marketing directors anticipate that behavourial targeting will be an important new element for customer insights by 2010.

On the reception side (i.e. the customer) however, 46% of those in the study were concerned about text messages as spam (I’m not worried, my friends send me enough messages that I regard as spam anyway!).

Of course marketing messages can take many forms, such as competitions, info services, booking confirmations (with extra promo text), appointment updates (agan with the promo text), and call backs / email campaigns.

Speaking of text messaging, this would also be the most popular medium for Mobile Marketing - probably due to it’s ubiquity.

O2 commissioned Vanson Bourne in May 2008 to survey IT directors and marketing directors in 100 leading brands about their current and future plans for mobile marketing.

[Via: Cellular News]

Vodafone Hungary has chosen the mobile advertising technology company MADS as their partner for “targeted mobile advertising“, on their Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) Live! portal. There are a good bunch of well-known brands, such as Nivea, EA, and Gameloft, that have already launched campaigns on since the pre-launch of the service in the summer.

MADS is an Amsterdam based company that offers multi-channel mobile profiling, analytics & ad server solutions. The mobile advertising channels include WAP, SMS, MMS, Mobile Video and Ring back tones within a single platform and interface.

So Advertising presses on - it’s a solid revenue stream for Operators, and shows no signs up slow-down!

[Via: MobiAD News]

Internal RIM and AT&T documents have floated up, discussing the competitive points between the iPhone and the upcoming BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) 9530 on Verizon (NYSE: VZ). The long and short of the arguments is that the BlackBerry Storm has all the back-end security and support, while the iPhone 3G has the panache of multi-touch and iTunes integration. A lot of AT&T’s points haven’t been really well-researched, like the HTML e-mail viewing (avaialble as of BlackBerry OS 4.5), AppStore (BlackBerry has plenty of 3rd. party software outlets, and they aren’t ruled with an iron fist), maps and GPS (hasn’t been ruled out, and it will likely be on the GSM version), and Wi-Fi (a 9520 model will likely follow shortly after the initial Storm), but hey, we all know what camp I’m in. To be fair, the Storm’s selling points will only really appeal to the IT admin that cares about locking down devices, although they are trying to make a pitch for the benefits of data compression as a means to save on wireless costs and battery life.

See, when the BlackBerry Bold came out, everyone was making a big deal over the iPhone vs. Bold, but the Storm and the iPhone is going to be the real fight to watch out for. My only real worry for the BlackBerry Storm is the quality of their touchscreen. It looks like they’re doing some funky stuff with pressure sensitivity, as the keypad will light up as your finger goes over the virtual keys, but not actually press until you push down on them, and small vibrations will confirm keystrokes. It’s a bit of a gamble, but I trust RIM to polish the experience and get it up to the snuff of their traditional tactile keypads.

[via BGR, BlackBerry News]