Mobile Adverising Battleground

Mobile advertising battleground promises to be an interesting one, with competition between leaders in web ad delivery (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft) and strong mobile player Nokia. It is interesting that Nokia, primarily a mobile vendor (Nokia spun off its infrastructure as a JV with Siemens) is playing a strong role in shaping Mobile advertising and not the infrastructure vendors like Ericsson, Motorola or the network service providers like at&t and Verizon.

Traditionally, the networks have a big control over the content delivery to their mobile subscribers, both in who and what of mobile content. Sprint has its own music service, Verizon too and its own GetITNow for mobile Internet. Apple's iPhone for at&t opened the mobile internet to the same level as the wired version on our PCs, with no restrictions. Nokia has been steadily making strategic moves, with their acquisition of LoudEye for mobile music, their own online music, games, multimedia store Ovi.

Google with its strength in search Ad delivery on the Internet, recognizing the slowing growth in online Ads and the potential for mobile Ads, is stepping up its efforts to increase the volume of its mobile Ads.

Nokia, Advertising Age reports, is closer to Mobile Ad delivery with its acquisition of Enpocket.

It's a move that pits the handset maker directly against rival carriers as well as more traditional ad sellers such as Google, Yahoo and other PC portals. Content providers and media companies, such as Weather Channel and MTV, also hope to rake in additional revenue from mobile ads.

Clearly, the competition is going to be between two of the leaders in their own area and who have shown strategic thinking in focusing on building the complete ecosystem and not just the standalone parts. With the tremendous market share they have in their respective areas and the cash in their balance book, they are reinventing their businesses and setting up for future growth.

If Yahoo and Microsoft don't have make key acquisitions now they will be forced to play catchup as they do with Google's search Ads. Network providers mus be getting wary about the emergence of a Mobile phone vendor and a search firm as leaders and must be feeling that control is slowly slipping from their hands. My vote is with both Nokia and Google.