A recent study by Volantis and YouGov found that nearly half of those surveyed would be more likely to sign up if operators offered a simpler contract. No surprise really. Anyone who has had to renegotiate their contract, which is basically all of us, have had to go through a mine field of confusion and arguably misleading information to find the right contract. Underlying it seems to be a rather cynical approach by many networks to find as many revenue streams as possible.
From a mobile marketing perspective, this may not appear to have an impact, but the potential is significant. If consumers get their way, then the likely effect is that mobile revenues will be further squeezed. As a result the mobile marketing channel will become a more significant source of revenue.
More worryingly from a mobile marketing perspective, is the fact that 33% of those with internet capable of phones do not actually use internet access at all. Of those who do, three minutes is the average surfing time. Considerably less then the fixed web. The fact that so many people choose not to use the mobile internet will inevitably be a barrier to the mobile marketing and advertising channels. Whilst SMS will remain king, for mobile marketing to come of age it will have to move beyond just 160 characters of text.
Whilst we will never see 100% mobile internet usage, Volantis believe that it is now reaching the tipping point: ubiquitous enough to be used for most advertising campaigns.