作者：Dan Frommer

移动设备的演变带动了移动广告形式的进化。从一些小型的文字和条幅广告，再到更高级复杂的形式，移动广告已发生了明显转变。例如，有些移动广告是以迷你小游戏、交互式小工具和竞赛抢夺用户眼球，还有一些则根据用户所在位置提供一些特殊优惠奖励以显示自身优势。

尽管各种新颖的移动广告层出不穷，但据最新调查显示，有60%的手机用户一周内至少点击一次广告，足见移动广告领域仍存在较大发展空间（游戏邦注：但需注意还有许多“点击率”完全是用户偶然点击的贡献）。

那么在今后数年以移动广告会有哪些创新形式呢？我们的看法是它将向更不具干扰性，更具实用性的方向发展，以下将列举移动广告的几种发展趋势：

1.更具交互性，以应用程序为媒介的广告

对用户来说，手机与笔记本和电视的功能截然不同，所以移动广告形式也就难免有所区别。移动广告需根据手机设备功能（游戏邦注：例如触摸屏、摄像头），以及人们对手机的使用方式而设计（例如随时随地携带手机）。

这一点正是交互式移动广告立足的根本，或者说是制作迷你应用这种广告形式需借鉴的理念。苹果iAd可能是最著名的交互式广告服务，它支持用户在广告中探索一个微型世界，观看视频，参加竞争，体验游戏等。但iAd并非个例，Medialets和Crisp Media等公司也在为应用开发者和广告公司提供类似的工具。

预计将来还会有更多广告商发现移动广告可施展手脚的空间，将这类交互式应用程序作为广告手段。我们认为，实现这种做法的关键在于让广告更具实用性和吸引力，而不只是干扰性地灌输内容。

但这种操作方式仍然存在问题，即用户有可能无意体验这种广告，或者直接视而不见，最重要的就是这些广告能否有效说服他们采取购买行动。

下图是苹果iAd早期的一则广告，它以搞怪的“变脸”方式让用户从广告中获得乐趣。

Apple iAds(from businessinsider)

2.提供真实奖励或优惠的广告

新兴公司Kiip的移动广告形式别具一格，他们为赢得一定积分的手机游戏玩家提供奖品和优惠券。例如，你已经闯过一个关卡，就可以赢得一杯免费的咖啡或一款新鞋的折扣券。

而Groupon新推出的实时促销服务Groupon New也同样表现不俗，其广告理念在于让用户立即兑现一种短期的优惠服务（游戏邦注：例如获得一个三明治或理发服务），鼓励用户马上采取消费行动。如果Groupon有意发扬这种做法，应该还可以再针对其他应用衍生出新型广告产品。

这其中最大的创意在于让用户因广告而赢取奖品或者省钱，这种做法远比仅将广告强塞给用户更管用。

3）以流行移动产品直取用户的“广告”

iPhone App Store等新型销售工具为企业品牌创造了无需购买广告就能获取用户的捷径。

Nike+ GPS

以耐克为例，该品牌原本也可以向在线和移动广告砸下重金以获取用户关注，但有了苹果iPhone和App Store，他们就可以采用曲线救国的方式，通过开发Nike+GPS这种可追踪用户行程的时尚手机应用来创造品牌曝光率，不但可以让用户对品牌产生好感，而且在刺激用户购买欲这一点上的效能也并不亚于条幅广告。

当然这并不是说耐克可以一劳永逸，从此不再需要购买任何广告，而是要指出耐克巧用移动设备为自己开通了一条更有助于吸引潜在用户的光明大道。

还有不少案例可以证明，在营销产品上多花心思，有可能比从传媒公司和广告网站购买移动广告更有效果。

4）通过移动配件或服务助用户省钱的广告

如果用户愿意多花点时间看广告内容，就给他们的移动服务或配件打个折扣，这个主意听起来还不赖吧？

亚马逊Kindle在这一点上的做法就比较超前，带有广告内容的Kindle比无广告版本便宜25美元，它的屏保状态就是一些广告内容。该产品自发布以来，已成为亚马逊最畅销的Kindle。

这也有可能是未来移动配件的销售方式。假如亚马逊、谷歌、移动运营商和其他公司可以想出每年通过每名用户获取广告收益的对策，那么他们当然也就愿意出点钱补贴用户的移动设备或服务的消费行为。

5）与手机支付方式绑定的移动广告

与其他广告媒介不同，移动广告与用户个人信息极有关联，这其中包括用户所在位置，手机上的应用内容和音乐等信息。但多数情况下，它们仍然无法告知广告买主用户是否会在看过广告之后采取消费行动。

但现在已有不少公司推出手机钱包服务，他们就有可能了解用户是否在看完广告后就购买产品，就算你是在当地实体商品消费，而非通过网购达成交易的这种情况也不例外。

除了向广告主传达广告效能的信息之外，它还有可能助广告主想出更有效展示广告或服务的方式，以刺激用户因广告而产生购买欲。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The Future Of Mobile Advertising: Less Annoying, More Useful

Dan Frommer

Email Dan Frommer is Senior Staff Writer at Business Insider. He writes about Apple and other big players in the technology industry, with a special focus on mobile tech.

As mobile phones evolve, mobile advertising is evolving, too.

Already, we’ve seen a shift from tiny text and banner ads to more sophisticated efforts. Some are trying to captivate you with mini-games, interactive widgets, and contests. Others serve up a specific deal based on your location.

And while today’s mobile ads aren’t doing too poorly — 60% of mobile users click on mobile ads at least one a week, according to a recent report — there’s still a lot of room for advancements as the industry matures. (Especially considering that a lot of those “clicks” are probably by accident.)

These are the trends we expect to see in mobile advertising over the next several years. We hope the result for users will be a less annoying, more useful ad experience.

1) More interactivity and “apps as ads.”

You use your phone for different things than your laptop and your TV. So ads should be different, taking advantage of unique things you can do on your phone — like touching its screen, moving it around, accessing its camera, and using it anywhere.

That’s the basis for interactive mobile ads, or the concept of building ads like mini applications. Apple’s iAds are perhaps the most famous interactive ads — letting you explore a tiny virtual world inside the ad, watch video, enter contests, play games, etc. — but they’re far from the only ones. Other companies like Medialets and Crisp Media offer similar tools to app makers and ad agencies.

We expect to see more of these interactive “apps as ads” as brands and agencies discover all the things they can do with mobile ads. The key is figuring out a way to make these ads useful and engaging, not just annoying pitches.

One big question is whether people will care enough to bother playing with these ads, or if they’ll ignore them. Another is whether they’ll actually buy stuff.

For an example, here’s a screenshot of one of Apple’s early iAds, where you could goof around with the way this kid looks.

2) Deals and rewards, not just empty pitches.

One of the coolest mobile ad models we’ve ever seen is from a new startup called Kiip. Their ads — rewards and coupons — show up in mobile games when people reach certain points in the game. For example, if you beat a level, you might be rewarded with a free cup of coffee or a discount on new shoes.

We’re also intrigued with real-time local offers like the new Groupon Now service from Groupon.

The idea is that you can get a short-term deal on something right now — like a sandwich or a haircut — which encourages you to do something right away. This is the sort of thing that could be expanded into an ad product for other apps over time, if Groupon wants.

The big idea is to give people a reward or save them money for using these ads. That seems more worthwhile than just sticking ads in someone’s face.

Here’s how Kiip works:

3) Companies using cool mobile products to reach consumers directly, instead of ads.

New distribution tools like the iPhone App Store are giving brands unprecedented direct access to consumers, without the need to necessarily buy actual ads to reach people.

Take Nike for example. Sure, it can buy online and mobile ads. But thanks to Apple’s iPhone and the App Store, it can make cool mobile apps — like the Nike+ GPS app for tracking your runs and bike rides — that may generate as much goodwill and purchase intent as a banner ad.

That’s not to say that Nike won’t buy any ads anymore — of course it will — but it’s getting new, direct routes to potential customers via mobile devices, which it didn’t have before.

In some cases, brands may find that it’s more effective to spend money on marketing products instead of just buying mobile ads from media companies and ad networks.

4) Ads helping save you money on mobile gadgets or services themselves.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you can get a discount on mobile service, or even on the price of your gadgets, if you agree to spend some time with ads?

Amazon is leading the way here with its new Kindle with special offers, which is priced $25 cheaper than its ad-free Kindle models, with the requirement that you see some ads instead of its typical screensavers. Since its launch, it has been the best-selling Kindle that Amazon offers.

This may be the future of how gadgets are sold. If companies like Amazon, Google, mobile carriers, and others figure out that they can earn a certain amount of advertising revenue per customer, per year, they may subsidize your device or service.

5) Mobile ads linking up with mobile payments to “close the loop.”

Mobile ads have information about you that other types of ads don’t, including your location and the apps and music on your phone (Apple’s iAds). But in most cases, they still can’t tell the ad buyer that you’ve purchased something after seeing the advertisement.

But now that companies are trying to turn your phone into a mobile wallet, the opportunity to “close the loop” is growing. Companies may be able to know that you’ve made a purchase after seeing an ad, even if you’re buying something in person at a local business — not just an online shop.

Beyond giving everyone a better idea of which ads are working, one useful byproduct might be figuring out how to show you better ads or offers, which actually get you to buy stuff based on seeing them.（source: businessinsider）