‘Call to Action’ Advertising to Hit $419MM by 2012

“Call to Action” advertising, spawned by a combination of mobile TV and a cellular communications backchannel - and virtually non-existent in 2007 - is expected to grow to $419 million in worldwide revenue by 2012, according to a MultiMedia Intelligence study, MarketingCharts reports.

(View graph of projected revenue.)

Call to Action advertising enables a wireless-device user to receive more information or communicate with an advertiser while an advertisement is playing, according to the study.

“The cell phone is inherently an inferior entertainment platform when compared to other media devices like TV,” said Frank Dickson, chief research officer for MultiMedia Intelligence. “However, the cell phone is inherently a superior portable communications platform. It allows the possibility for TV advertising outside the home as well as creating a new form of advertising.”

“Call to Action leverages the built-in return channel of the handset to deliver advertising beyond the capabilities of the existing living room TV experience.”

Additional findings:

• Total mobile TV and video advertising revenue, including Call to Action advertising, will exceed $1 billion by 2012.
• Regionally, Call to Action advertising will be driven by the North American and Asian markets, with Asia leading in new applications and North America leading in advertising.
• Consumers are demanding more personalization and entertainment content on their mobile phones, driving mobile TV and video subscription revenue to almost $3.5 billion in 2008. By 2012, mobile video and mobile TV will exceed $14 billion.
• Mobile TV ARPUs are much higher in North America and Europe than in Asia because of the lack of free-to-air alternatives.
• By 2012, Asia will have two-thirds of the world’s mobile TV subscribers. With the combination of a large wireless subscriber base and free-to-air alternatives, Asia has the vast majority of all mobile TV subscribers.