Over 1/3 of Cell Customers Willing to Accept Ad-supported Content

As I recently discussed with Hovr, most cell phone games are too risky for most users. Either having never heard of the particular product, and/or being put off by the unusually high prices, people just aren’t interested in blindly paying for something that will likely get little use. That’s where incentive-based advertising comes in. Harris Interactive, a market research firm, has released a new report that says that 35% of adult cell users would be willing to accept incentive-based advertising. Is this the sweet spot for mobile game developers?

In the cell gaming market, there’s a lot of room to grow, but in order to do so, you need to be able to move your product. Up until recently, the majority of cell gaming content had to be purchased and downloaded, but things are starting to change and so is public attitude. When first approached about ad-based content, most users were put off completely. Why would anyone volunteer to see ads on their phones. However, when offered content in exchange for viewing non-intrusive ads, users started to listen, as this new data from Harris shows.

Among the information gathered by Harris Interactive, the most popular form of ad delivery was via text message followed by picture ads, videos and voice messages. Also noted by the users polled, the following options would make accepting the advertising easier:

  • The ability to opt out (66%);
  • Choosing the type of ads to be received (56%);
  • Choosing the number of ads to be received in a given period of time (48%);
  • Providing a profile of desired areas of interest so only specific ads are sent (43%);
  • Different/discounted plan if ads included (42%);
  • Choosing specific times when ads would be received (40%).

Very interesting figures overall. To see the rest of the report, check Harris Interactive.

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