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SMS advertising will be big in 2009: Nielsen
Marketers who need to achieve more with less funds should make the most of mobile phone advertising in Vietnam, a leading market research firm has said.
“2009 will be the year when mobile advertising becomes a mainstream media type for advertisers,” said Aaron Cross, managing director of The Nielsen Company in Vietnam.
Cross was speaking with Thanh Nien Daily after the two-day conference on Integrated Marketing in Vietnam which wrapped up last Friday in Ho Chi Minh City.
“Mobile phone advertising offers a new media type for marketers to include as part of their integrated communication strategy. In most cases, mobile advertising will prove to be more cost effective than other traditional media types,” Cross said.
He stressed the thrust of the Nielsen Mobile Insights Survey 2008 which said almost half of mobile owners in Vietnam receive advertisements via SMS each month. The majority of those ads are read by consumers, it added.
The survey also said 74 percent of people in HCMC and Hanoi, the country’s two economic hubs, own a mobile phone. Over half (58 percent) of the country’s urban population and a third (37 percent) of rural residents own cell phones, according to the survey.
The Nielsen Mobile Study 2008 said 89 percent of Vietnamese polled used text messaging in a month, compared with 73 percent in Hong Kong, 72 percent in China, and 63 percent in India.
In Europe and the US, Nielsen too has recently observed a huge increase in advertising via mobile phones, Cross said.
“So advertising using mobile phone technology is a tool where marketers can cut through the clutter generated by all other communication messages that consumers experience every day,” he said.
Consumer rights
Cross also said advertisers would need to be mindful of local regulations and guidelines. He was referring to the anti-spam government decree which took effect last month in Vietnam.
“The anti-spam decree is in place to protect consumers from receiving unwanted messages on their mobile,” he said.
But according to Cross, “If we look overseas we see that consumers are becoming more accepting of receiving targeted SMS and MMS communication messages.”
Win-win solutions are being identified for both advertisers and consumers, he said.
“It must be noted that communications sent to consumers via mobile phones will always be more cost effective and targeted where an individual consumer has expressed an interest in being contacted.”
Cross cited an example in which a consumer may request SMS or MMS messages for more details about a product or service after first engaging with the advertiser’s message via TV, print, billboard, cinema or Internet communication.
“Utilizing an integrated campaign is critical to fully leverage the power of mobile phone communications,” said Cross.
Turning back to Vietnamese consumers, Cross said they are increasingly conscious of prices when shopping due to the effect of the global economic crisis.
“So consumers are looking out for hot deals and great value to relieve pressure from their monthly budgets.”
Consumers will potentially respond quite positively to messages from advertisers that are relevant, targeted and offer genuine value that they can take advantage of, Cross said.
“Examples include a two-for-one deal at their favorite restaurant valid for the upcoming weekend or a genuine discount at their favorite clothing store,” he said.
An Dien
Thanh nien
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