Mobile Gets Boost with Deals in Europe, Despite Economic Woes

Despite shrinking ad budgets and an increased focus from advertisers on tried and tested media, mobile marketing is continuing to attract interest and investment, particularly within the European market. Recent deals involving Publicis, Microsoft, and YOC are indicative of the momentum.

Although spend remains modest compared with established online formats such as display and search, analysts and media agencies are predicting mobile could be one of the main beneficiaries of a reinvigorated, post-recession ad market. WPP’s GroupM, for example, reckons that mobile’s share of global ad spend will reach 6 percent in 2010 –growing 19 percent year-on-year to reach $3.3 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2009.

Perhaps reflecting that, Publicis’ Paris-based mobile unit Phonevalley announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft Advertising this week. Publicis purchased digital ad agency Razorfish from Microsoft for $530 million last month.

The deal will see Publicis act as Microsoft’s partner of choice in 14 global markets, creating custom ad packages to run across Microsoft’s mobile Web properties such as MSN and Bing. The pair will also share data and research to further improve campaign efficiency and efficacy for clients.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s full service mobile agency network the YOC group has announced its entrance into the Spanish market, purchasing Madrid-based Nokia spinoff Mobile Interactive Advertising Media. YOC has made a string of mobile-related acquisitions across Europe.

Microsoft, following its purchase of Screentonic in 2007, recently merged its mobile and online sales teams to offer more integrated cross-platform services. Firms such as Microsoft and Publicis aren’t the only ones looking to secure a slice of the pie. Digital advertising trade show Ad:Tech showcased a plethora of mobile-related services in London this week, including dedicated mobile agencies such as Yodel digital, and location-based ad platforms from firms such as Nokia-owned Navteq.

Though spenders on the medium remain, on the whole, mobile-centric content providers, verticals such as automotive and financial services are boosting their activity. Even the COI, the U.K. government’s central communications agency and the nation’s biggest spending advertiser, now has a team dedicated to mobile-related campaigns. At an event hosted by the Mobile Marketing Association in London last week, Paul Taylor, the COI’s head mobile strategist and planner, described how the medium is becoming an increasingly important channel for the organization, and how the role of his four-strong team is not only to implement mobile campaigns, but also to educate other government departments on the opportunities it presents.

It remains to be seen whether mobile spending will accelerate as quickly as some predict, or if investment from major players such as Microsoft and Publicis simply represents concerns that they’ll arrive late to the party.