The $250bn mobile ad market?

The GSMA believes its new initiative could create a mobile advertising market worth $250 billion.

Last month Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange and 3 came together for a GSM Association-backed initiative to define a common mobile ad audience measurement system.

The aim is to make it as easy for advertisers to run campaigns on mobiles as it is across other media such as TV and press.

And, in a report shown to exclusively ME, the GSMA estimates this ‘platform play’ could eventually be worth a staggering $250 billion – based on a projection that overall ad revenues will hit $533 billion by 2010.

Observers have expressed surprise at the massively bullish prediction. However, the system could potentially trump anything seen before in the media space. TV, for example, gives advertisers audience information based on a few thousand families with specially-adapted TV sets.

With the right system in place, mobile could return behavioural information based on millions of consumers.

By offering, in essence, a single media pack for mobile, the operators hope to monetise potentially every brand on the planet.

Simon Torrance, CEO of consultancy STL Partners, said: “Voice is in decline and data services are not taking up the slack.

That’s why we need a two-sided business model that pulls revenue from both consumers and media. Telcos have assets that can tell brands where niche audiences are, not just on-portal but across the entire mobile network.”

Many pundits have viewed the project as a defensive move against Google. And a GSMA exec told ME. “A major brand took two years to put ads on all five UK operator portals; it could build the same campaign on Google in three hours. That’s what we have to aim for.”

Ironically, this move could turn Google into a customer. Ultimately, this is a ‘smart pipe’ play that accepts operators should do what they’re best at – network stuff – and not try to be entertainment companies.

Tony Riley, CEO of mobile ad specialist Mobile Enterprise, said: “It’s a chance for networks to stop worrying about the big media and online brands and do business with them instead.”