We watch for ads?

I use my TV to:

• view programs; mostly for entertainment
• search out information; like weather, traffic, headlines (hurricane tracking)

I use my Computer to:

• work; create docs, email, spreadsheets, creative, etc
• search out information on portals or via keyword searchs (google, etc)
• communicate (skype / IM)

I use my Mobile phone to:

• text
• email
• talk
• search out information via wap or text to (4INFO, GOOGL)
• browse web (if I've got time to kill)

What do the above have in common?

Notice how I do not say "I use my ____ to view advertising?"

I do view advertising on my computer and TV - obviously - all the time.  But that is part of the price of the other benefits.  It certainly is not WHY I use those devices.

Let's keep that in mind when we get excited about pushing advertising to mobile phones.  Are people upgrading their phones to be smart / web-enabled / bluetooth so they can view advertising better?

I do not think so. 

Having said that.  Ads are ok.  We got used to them on TV and Computers, we will on mobiles.  And they are necessary and often helpful. But as advertisers - don't think that the mobile phone is the new frontier for advertising.  There are opportunities - but don't get hung up on pushing.  Think about how people want to interact with advertising, and how they want to increasingly control their interaction with it.  Give your audience a way to do that without treating their mobile phone as a 24/7 ad channel.

Comments

[Matt]

linked to this post with additional commentary here