Acision survey confirms the Middle East is ready to embrace targeted mobile ads
09 October 2007
According to a new survey conducted by Acision, the world leaders in mobile messaging and charging, mobile advertising is exhibiting strong potential in the Middle East, with 64 per cent of respondents believing it will mirror the successes of Internet advertising. The Mobile Advertising Survey was conducted at Gitex 2007, with almost 300 delegates from across the region responding.
The survey revealed that mobile advertising is already taking hold in the region, with 48 per cent of participants stating that they receive mobile ads 2-4 times a week. The survey also revealed, however, that regional consumers are demanding ads that are both relevant and engaging.
Asked how mobile advertising might be improved, the majority of respondents said that operators need to study their databases before sending out SMS ads, ensuring that they are relevant to the audience. An Arabic SMS ad, for instance, should not be sent to a non-Arabic speaker. Irrelevant ads, respondents said, are deleted immediately.
Providing an opt-out facility is another issue operators need to address, the survey revealed, with 65 per cent of respondents not even aware of the opt-in or opt-out nature of mobile advertising. The majority of those who indicated that they are interested in receiving mobile ads cited special offers and targeted information as being the most attractive features.
The study also revealed that the preferred form of mobile advertising is through text messaging as opposed to visual. Some 18 per cent of respondents specified that there is still a need for advertisers to engage in more creative ads to capture the attention of consumers through multimedia messaging. Those who believed mobile ads will take off in the region said the medium will thrive because it is “hip.”
Nabil Y. Khalil, Managing Director for Acision in the Middle East and North Africa said that mobile operators can overcome the challenges they face by turning to key technology players such as Acision. “The survey results indicate a promising future in the region. Mobile advertising offers significant opportunities for precise targeting across all mobile data channels, along with the ability to provide users with highly personalised services. The key is keeping things lively and relevant, objectives that we at Acision work hard to achieve.”
Acision’s mobile marketing offering allows mobile operators to generate advertising revenues, independent of third parties such as internet based advertising brokers. Acision goes beyond the current limitations of SMS-push or mobile internet based advertising and enables operators to insert advertising into any existing communications event, making mobile advertising part of the end to end service.
Acision's leadership and global expertise in Intuitive Messaging has helped the company become the partner of choice in high volume mobile data services for the region's leading telecoms operators, including Zain, Qtel, Oman Mobile and many others.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Acision
Established in June 2007, Acision launched with more than 300 clients, serving over one billion customers worldwide. Renowned for its progressive, exciting and agile philosophy of innovation along with assured service delivery, Acision enables network operators, service providers, broadband operators and content owners to increase revenues, enhance customer loyalty and capitalise on the opportunities offered by convergence. With over 43 years of experience, Acision leads the market in Intuitive Messaging, Intelligent Charging, Content Enablement and Customer Intelligence Management. Acision is the partner of choice in high volume mobile data services with over 50 per cent of global messaging traffic generated through its platforms.
Acision was formed following the purchase of LogicaCMG’s Telecoms Products business for £265m (US $525m), by a consortium led by Atlantic Bridge Ventures and Access Industries. The company employs approximately 1,700 people in 22 countries across six continents, and launched as a half billion US dollar company. More information is available at www.acision.com
Press contacts
Diana Desai
Acision, Middle East and North Africa
Tel: +9714 3916238
Email: diana.desai@acision.com
Sameh Hamtini / Mohammed Kharroubi
Asda'a Public Relations
Exclusive Affiliate of Edelman PR Worldwide in Middle East and North Africa
Tel: +9714 3344550
Fax: +9714 3344556
Email: acision@asdaa.com