A Hard Cell

Some feel as if advertising follows them everywhere, and in the near future it literally could if marketers and advertisers realize their plans to send commercials and other forms of advertising directly to consumers' cell phones.

Consumer advocates believe cell phone advertising could violate users' privacy and create safety issues, while supporters counter that the advertising will be carefully regulated and that the consumer will be in control of it.

Cell phone-based marketing is on the rise, and as people text message and web browse more frequently on their cell phones, advertising campaigns will become more prevalent, according to CEO of Third Screen Media Tom Burgess.

"Over the next two years you'll see some kind of convergence between the mobile web and video advertising," Burgess said.

The Boston-based company Third Screen Media is part of the Mobile Marketing Association, which is made up of companies involved in mobile marketing that work to improve the technology to enable advertising on mobiles.

"It's all pull, none of it is push and none of it is spam," he said. "People think they'll be walking down the street and - ring ring - there's an ad, but that's not the case."

Burgess said advertising will enter customers' phones through usage of the mobile web and through test messaging.

"The mobile world is similar to the internet," he said. "Advertisements will appear either in text messaging interfaces like email or in viewing content through a mobile web browser."

Burgess said the company's customers, such as the Weather Channel, CBS Sports Line and MSN are concerned that mobile phone advertisements will discourage phone users and are working to remedy the problem.

"The carriers are extremely aware of the potential for it and are taking steps to prevent text messaging spam," Burgess said.

Burgess said that mobile advertising could eventually benefit the consumer by bearing a portion of the mobile phone users' bills, just as commercials help fund broadcast television.

"It's an important evolution," he said. "Customers need to understand that advertising will be a cost-efficient benefit."

He said that mobile advertising will be a gradual evolution because mobile providers do not want to lose customers in the process.

"Carriers are very much on the subscriber side," he said. "The carriers have millions of consumers, and now they're introducing a new service and they don't want to alienate current consumers."

Although Burgess said the advertisements could possibly benefit the consumer financially, Gary Ruskin, the executive director of Commercial Alert, said he felt the mobile marketing threatens the security of wireless customers.

"This is ad creep - the creep of advertising into just about every part of our lives and culture," Ruskin said.

Ruskin said the non-profit group's members often write letters to Congress and lobbies in support of placing limits on advertising.

"We believe the proper sphere for advertising in the marketplace is in stores," he said. "There are serious privacy concerns concerning locations.

He said triangulation, where cell towers could potentially locate customers to send them location-related advertisements, was a breach of customer safety and privacy.

"So the question is who else is going to know," Ruskin said. "We are concerned about the invasion of privacy related to corporate advertisers knowing your position."

Despite the non-profit's concerns, Laura Marriott, the executive director for Mobile Marketing Association, said consumers will have the choice whether or not to view the advertising material.

"Today you can't be located unless you agree to do so," Marriott said "The nice thing about mobile advertising is the consumer is in control."

Marriott said before the launch of a more widespread mobile advertising campaign, the MMA is working to develop guidelines and practices that will protect customer privacy and consumer integrity.

"There are a lot of concerns about being spammed but under guidelines and policy, that is not possible," she said. "There will not be this blasting of ads that consumers are concerned about."

The MMA works with companies such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Yahoo to use banner mobile web campaigns. But this year, MMA will introduce more high tech video and downloads that will stream when a customer chooses to follow links on mobile web browsers or in text messages.

"Mobiles provide anytime, anywhere marketing," Marriott said. "Because it's always on and always available it gives consumers and customers access to each other that they've never had before."

Although some groups, like Commercial Alert, object to the mobile marketing strategy, Marriott said it is against the company's best practices to subject consumers to ads that they do not choose to see.

"Customers sign up for either monthly or one-time services and that's how they see the ads," Marriott said. "There's a lot of fear out there and a lot of it develops from a lack of consumer understanding."

Mobile providers had no comment on their future participation plans or if their companies were concerned about the potential impact of mobile advertising on cell phone subscribers.

"We are focused on increasing the amount of multi-media content available to our subscribers," said Mike Murphy, a Verizon spokesman.

Murphy, in an email, said at this time, there is no advertising on the Verizon mobile web.

John Redman, a spokesperson for Sprint, said in an email, "Sprint live TV is the same as your home TV and you will see commercials as you would at home."