Is in-call the next big thing?

Catching consumers' attention during a phone call could be easier than you think, and it could increase the ROI of ad campaigns. In-call advertising is nothing new in the marketing sector but advanced targeting and mobile options are making in-call a better call for most advertisers.

by Kristina Knight

Recently, DialDirections announced a partnership with VoltDelta, a leader in the hosted directory assistance market, to provide 411 service to many of the leading telephone companies. The partnership will give VoltDelta customers access to DialDirection's voice-activated directions service.

The offering includes turn-by-turn directions which are text messaged to customer's mobile phones. How can marketers take advantage of the service - which is offered free to consumers? By advertising within.

Marketers can choose to place their ad copy at the bottom of an SMS message or use an audio ad for in-call. However, the key is to include sparse information because ads over :10 to :15 seconds could be ignored, so including only a quick jingle and a 'sponsored by' message should suffice.

"You can express more things in an audio medium than just in text," said Amit Desai, co-founder and chief product officer for DialDirections. "People remember jingles, so it's an excellent medium."

The context of the ad is also important because these are incredibly in-market users. They want specific information or directions so there is the ability to serve relevant ads. As far as targeting, geographical is best but don't target too narrowly.

"Targeting within a zip code is the most you'd want to do," said Mr. Desai.

Tags: in-call advertising, mobile advertising, mobile text messaging

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I agree, the mobile market is definately ripe for an explosion of monetization via marketting. There is a wealth of services that I think will become available. One example is directory assistance. I can get live agent directory assistance for free by calling 800-411-SAVE. So the power of advertising does allow for keeping the same level of service as currently exists with "premium" 411 services. I think that other applications like this could include calling for the best prices in gas in the area that is sponsered by ads.

Posted by: Penny Pincher on May 2, 2008 15:28

Getting directory assistance for free isn't new anymore what with 1-800-free-411 and others, so the next step is the integration of various services. free411 also offers things like drive directions for most listings, even across state borders.

Posted by: wishinghard on May 10, 2008 03:06