Skip to search.

Mobile Advertising: Not As Huge As You Think

Posted Oct 07, 2009 11:16am EDT by Henry Blodget in Investing, Media, Products and Trends, Mobile
Related: goog, aapl, vz, t, s, mot, rimm

Online analysts would like you to know that there's a great new industry growth engine revving up -- mobile ads.

For example, you can't open an analyst's report these days without immediately encountering something like this:

  • We're optimistic about mobile ads!
  • We're bullish on mobile ads!
  • Google's Verizon deal is evidence of the huge new opportunity in mobile ads!

Sounds exciting!

Unfortunately, analysts have been saying the same thing since 1995.  And mobile advertising spending is still a rounding error.

Why has mobile advertising been such a disappointment?

Two reasons:

  • First, advertisers just can't get all lathered up about ads the size of paint chips.  It's nice that consumers carry a little screen around with them all day.  Theoretically, that creates a big opportunity for advertising.  But so far, all that opportunity has represented is the ability to serve up an ad so small that consumers have to squint to even see what it is.
  • Second, despite enormous hype, no one has yet developed a big mobile opportunity that incorporates location-information.  People have been theorizing about how great these opportunities will be for 15 years.  But, as yet, no one has actually thought of one that will work.

Our guest, Colin Gillis of Brigantine Advisors, thinks this could soon start to change.  He doesn't think mobile ads represent a vast new opportunity that will suddenly explode the growth of online ad spending again.  But he still thinks we're talking about a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

Go to Tech Ticker

There are no comments yet

Post a comment

Sign in to post a comment, or Sign up for a free account.
Quotes delayed, except where indicated otherwise. Delay times are 15 mins for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges.

Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the Yahoo! Finance partner page. Quotes are updated automatically, but will be turned off after 25 minutes of inactivity. Quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges. Real-Time continuous streaming quotes are available through our premium service. You may turn streaming quotes on or off. Fundamental company data provided by Capital IQ. Financials data provided by Edgar Online. Historical chart data and daily updates provided by Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI). International historical chart data, daily updates, fund summary, fund performance, dividend data and Morningstar Index data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Analyst estimates data provided by Thomson Financial Network. All data provided by Thomson Financial Network is based solely upon research information provided by third party analysts. Yahoo! has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. Yahoo! and ThomsonFN shall not be liable for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Neither Yahoo! nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the Yahoo! site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.