!- - - ~ j, . - - - - -- C hina ishome to the largest populati on of Internet users,soit isno surprisethat companies are allocati ng more of their ad budgets to this emer gi ng medi um. Al though televi si on issti ll the most important medium, onli ne ad revenue isgrowi ng at double- digit annual rates. Clients ompr is A-list global marketers including Samsung, Mazd a, Nike, and Coca -Col a. One recent promot ion for Coke Zero on soci alnetwor ki ng site Xi aonei.com had the theme "Be Bondfor a Day. " Coke invited usersto upload photos that demonstrated why they should be chosen as the next James Bond. Wi nner s were treated to heli copt er fl ights and rides in DOTs iconic Asto Martin sportscar. China also enjoys the distinct ion of the world's larges t popu- lation of mobile phone subscr ibers.However, cell phone usage is expl oding in Indi a. As Manoj Dawane, CEOof Mumbai soft ware company People lnfocorn, expl ai ns, "In India, mobi le phone pen- etration ishigh compar ed to ot her forms of media li ke televi si on or the Internet . You can' t havea better pl acethan Indiafor mobile adve rt ising. " Ov erall advertising revenues in India have been growing at 20 percen t ann ually. Tot al wo rl d wi de spe ndi ng f or mobile ads was only about $1bi ll ion in 2007, but industry experts expectthat figure could reac h $10 billion to $20 billion by 2013. One factor driving mobile ads in India is the low rates that subscr ibers pay- as li tt le astwo cent s per mi nute. Demographi cs play an important role, too. About two-thirds of the Indian population lives in rural areas wher e televi sion ownership and newspaper readership ar e low. Cellular oper at ors such as BPl Mobile have built networks that reach tens of thousands of Indian vil la ge s. Ar if Al i, he ad of b ran d c om mu ni cat ion s a t BPL, has ideasthat wi ll keep subscr iber costs low. "We are thinking of pr ov iding 30- to 60-second commer cials over the phone where we wi l l p ass on s om e k in d o f be ne fit ," he said. Sources: Loretta Chao, "Online Advertising Gets Boost in China," The Walf St reet Joumal (Dec emb er 1 1, 2 00 8) , p, B6 ; E ri c Be llman and Tar iq Engineer, "India Appears Ripe for Cell Phone Ads," The Wan Street Journal (March 10, 2008), p, B3. features such as color displays and cameras give consumers a reason to upgrade their handsets on a regular basis; a new generation of smart phones gives phones some of the capabilities of com- puters. Case in point: Apple's wildly successful iPhone comes equipped with a full-blown Web browser. The marketing possibilities of cell phone-based e-commerce are suggested by the following: • In Australia, a thirsty travel r can pay for a Coke at Central Station in Sydney by calling "Dial-a-Coke," making a beverage selection, and then collecting his or her selection from a vending achine. Charges for the purchase appear on the customer's cell phone bills. • In Norway. mobile operator Telenor ASA has teamed with a finance group to offer mobile purchases of flowers, compact discs, bus tickets and food. 37 • In 2009, Apple's i'Iunes store sold its one-billionth iPhone application ("app"). While these and other new mobile services are in development, individuals a re already using their cell phones for a variety of tasks besides calling. For examp e, text messaging has exploded service (SMS), a globally accepte d wireless standard for sending alphanumeric messages of up to 160 characters. SMS is the technology that is the basis for Twitter's micro-blogging service (see Case 15-1). Industry experts expect marketers to integrate SMS with comm nication via other digital channels such as interactive digital TV, the Internet, and e-ma il. Some smart phones are equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) that allows users to determine their exact geographic position. This capability is also opening new opportunities for locati on-based advertis ing, F or ex amp le , Al ca te l- Lu ce nt , the Fre nc h te l ec om mu nic at io ns equipment manufacturer, has just launched a service that sends tailored text messages when cell phone users are n ar a specific location such as a store, hotel, or restaurant. The service provides addresses and telephone numbers of the businesses and can also provide links to coupons or other types of sales promotions.V "Wireless phone booths are the St arbu c ks of telephony in South America.,,39 Ralph deIa Vega, BellSouth L ati n Am e rica 3 7G re n M an ue l , " Di al in g f or Do ll ar s, " The Wal l Str eet Joumal=I i-Commer ce ( Oct o be r 20 ,2 00 3) . p. R3. 38Sara Si lv e r an d Emi ly St ee l, " Al ca te] Get s I nt o Mo bi le A ds ," Ti re Wall St reet Jour nal (May 21, 2009), p. E9. 39A lmar La tour, " La ti n Le ss on s: B el lSout h F in ds Po ck et of Gro wt h in an Od d Pl ac e, " The Wall St reet Jour nal (Nov e be r 20, 20 03 ), p. A8.
