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On October 30th the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) published a comprehensive research about Mobile Advertising in Blyk’s first expansion country; the Netherlands.

Even though Blyk has not yet launched in The Netherlands, we already participated in this research as a Launching Partner because of the importance of this research. It was the first ever national Mobile Advertising research gathering insights from consumers, advertisers, media agencies and mobile advertising experts.

The research showed consumers are sceptical about receiving ads on their mobile. However, this attitude strongly changes when consumers are incentivised (e.g. free text & minutes) and when the ads are relevant (e.g. fitting the consumer profile). From all forms of mobile advertising, consumers are most familiar with commercial text messages. In order of importance, an appropriate reward, control over what kind of messages they receive, tailored to their interests, and a permission-based model positively changes their attitude towards receiving ads on their mobile.

The advertisers still look at Mobile Advertising as being very new. It’s not yet a standard touch point in their communication planning. The research shows when advertisers start using Mobile Advertising it generates a better ROI than any other touch point. This results in recurring campaigns once advertisers have invested in Mobile Advertising.

The media agencies already consider Mobile Advertising as a key instrument. They see it as an important additional channel within a bigger picture. And it helps the media agencies to position themselves more strategically towards the advertisers – i.e. being a knowledgeable consultant on new media developments.

The mobile experts see a gap between the available Mobile Advertising technology and that what’s actually used by advertisers. Technically a lot is possible, but so far most Mobile Advertising is done through text and simple online banners.

All in all the research confirms Blyk is on track for a good entry in the Dutch market. Basically all lights are on GREEN:
• consumers will receive an upfront free text & voice bundle every month whilst they will only get highly relevant ads

• Blyk in the UK has already worked with many youth key brands resulting in high ROI for the investments done. The interest from Dutch advertisers is high based on these great UK results

• the media agencies are welcoming Blyk because of it’s very simple, open, honest proposition

• Blyk will “only” use text & mms for the ads. Both techniques are very well accepted and appreciated by Dutch consumers.

I really cannot wait for us to launch in The Netherlands! And yes…. Q1 2009!