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Doremus, the specialist business communications agency, and the Financial Times, recently polled over 600 worldwide senior executives to learn about the kinds of media they notice, and particularly what they think of advertising that appears on their cell phones.
The “C” and senior level executives hailed from North America, Europe and Asia. 91% were male. 75% were age 45+.
No ads on cell phones, please
The research revealed generational and regional gaps in how cell phones are used, and how often. Yet even in Asia, where cell phones are more commonly used to text message, respondents to the survey were in agreement with their peers in the rest of the world and prefer their cell phones to be ad free.
This is particularly interesting in light of the recent findings from Myers Publishing that mobile advertising is expected to reach $1.1 billion in 2008. That’s an increase of 120% over this year.
And while consumers have taken control over the consumption of virtually every other form of media, an unwanted cell phone ad can take away that control in an instant, appearing as an unwanted guest at the most annoyingly inappropriate time. Within an audience that boasts higher education, and significantly more cash than the “Average Joe”, this reluctance could prove a conundrum for many marketers … particularly those offering high end products and services.
There is a ray of hope for marketers
Younger (under age 45) participants in the study seemed slightly more receptive to ads on their cell phones if, and only if there is some form of attractive incentive or significant discount involved, such as a discount on the phone itself or the service fee.
“No doubt about it,” said Carl Anderson, President and CEO of Doremus. “Mobile is the medium that risks being thrown out of the C-Suite if it doesn’t show up in its Sunday best. But if marketers play by the rules and offer Cs and senior executives cell phone ads that are worth their time, making sure the offer is in sync with every other expression of the brand, slowly and eventually they will build real trust.”
The Financial Times, recognized worldwide for its authoritative, accurate, and analytical reporting, is one of the world's leading global business news organizations. The newspaper is printed in 23 cities across the world. It has a daily circulation of more than 440,000 copies, more than one million readers and is available in 110 countries. FT.com, the FT website, is the world's leading audited business website, with more than 5.3 million unique users.
Doremus is a specialist in a world of generalists. With offices in New York, San Francisco, London and Hong Kong, we specialize in business communications, helping companies to grow. We do this by leveraging a unique understanding of our clients` target audiences … taking the complex and making it compelling through intellect, insight, ideas and impact.
Doremus is a part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC). Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom`s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
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mflatley[.]doremus.com 
