Vodafone in mobile ad push with Yahoo!

by Jennifer Whitehead, Campaign 17-Nov-06

Yahoo! and Vodafone have joined forces in a bid to develop viable models and formats for display advertising on mobile phones.

The companies have formed an alliance that will look at ad formats and
ad serving models, as well as develop a system for getting customers to
agree to receiving the ads.

Blake Chandlee, the director of UK media sales at Yahoo! UK & Ireland,

revealed that ad agencies would be part of the process.

Options being considered include giving Vodafone customers discounts on
phone bills if they agree to accept targeted ad campaigns.

The taskforce will also look at issues such as if it would be acceptable
for users and advertisers to run video advertising, similar to that
shown on TV, within video content.

Chandlee said: "When it comes to advertising on mobile phones, everyone
knows it's going on, but no-one has put a flag in the ground. The
objective is to learn together."

More people are starting to access the internet via mobile devices, and
Yahoo! sees this as a trend that will continue globally. In some
emerging markets, people are more likely to go on the web via phones
than PCs.

Consumers using the Vodafone Live! mobile web portal are likely to see
some form of display advertising, which begins in the first half of
2007.

Nick Read, the chief executive of Vodafone UK, said the alliance with
Yahoo! would determine how best to give a richer mobile experience and
create a compelling proposition for advertisers.