They also have a very interesting analysis of which mobile channels will benefit from this spend over the coming years.

Although the overall level of spending on advertising is currently falling due to global economic conditions, Juniper feels that this may in fact represent an opportunity for mobile advertising. Early results from mobile have been very positive, and during bad times “brands will increasingly be seeking to transfer spend to targeted, measurable media.”

Also, it must be pointed out that even if mobile advertising reached $6 billion in 2014, this would be just about 1.2% of total advertising expenditures.

While it is always interesting to get the latest forecasts from major research houses, to me the most intriguing part of the report was the predicted distribution of ad spend among the many possible mobile channels. (note: see below for Juniper’s definition of each mobile channel.)

Some of the key points raised by the report include:

• The traditional dominance of SMS ads is lessening due to both mobile internet and on-portal ads. In fact, Jupiter predicts that in 2009 ads on mobile internet will exceed SMS advertising.
• The share represented by mobile internet advertising will grow over the next couple of years, but peak in 2011.
• One channel that is expected to grow very rapidly is “Personal Messaging advertising”, which Juniper defines as advertising that is included with person-to-person SMS, MMS or IM (instant messaging). They predict this channel will grow at an annual rate over 60%.
• Two other mobile channels that are expected to increase their share. Idle-screen advertising, currently less than 1% of the market, will grow as more operators and vendors deploy idle screen solutions to offer personalised advertising. And highly targeted, personalized MMS campaigns will also grow due to their high ROI.

The full report, Mobile Advertising: Delivery Channels, Business Models & Forecasts 2009-2014 can be purchased from Juniper here.

Telefonica’s Argentine subsidiary Movistar has been trialing the service in the city of Mar del Plata with about 5,000 users. Initial results are very impressive, with 82% of the users engaging with the new marketing service.

The LiveScreen platform is used to broadcast various content – including news, sports, business, entertainment and lifestyle directly to the idle-screen of a consumers handset. In essence, this provides an interactive media channel to the consumer. Users can be segmented and targeted according on location, handset type and areas of interest based on response to idle screen messages.

The channel also includes advertising messages, and the service generates revenue from advertising fees as well as content downloads and even subscriptions.

Marcelo Mitroga, Content and Mobile Marketing Manager from Movistar Argentina said, “The platform provides a great opportunity for advertisers as it allows segmentation based on age, sex, area of residence and content of interest combined with the interactivity feature which is unavailable in traditional media.”

Also of interest:

• Idle Screen Advertising Network Goes Global

• Celltick Secures Funding to Offer Managed Service

• 5 Predictions For Mobile Advertising

• Understanding The Mobile Consumer: Orange Mobile Media Research

Read the full press release.

Idle screen advertising is expected to become a major channel for mobile advertising.

LiveScreen Media broadcasts targeted content, advertising and value-added service information to the idle screen of a consumer’s mobile, thus transforming it into an interactive mobile media channel.

Automatically identifying when a mobile phone is inactive, LiveScreen Media displays personalized product, brand or content media in the form of dynamic teasers – based on user location, behavior and demographics, as well as time of day. Cell broadcast technology is used to simultaneously send teasers to millions of users without overloading the mobile network.

When the user sees something that interests them on the idle screen, it takes just two clicks to carry out a “transaction” – either accessing desired information or responding to a promotion or advertisement.

This new announcement will put a web-based interface onto the LiveScreen system. LiveScreen Media allows advertisers to place idle screen advertising campaigns prompting an immediate response from interested consumers. Advertisers who have already taken advantage of this unique media channel include Coke, America Express, Unilever and Honda.

Read the full Celltick press release.