Advertising on mobile phones on the up

[Tags: interactive pr, pr, mobile advertising]. USA Today reports on the increase in advertising on mobile phones:

"TV networks are prodding viewers to send text messages to vote for their favorite reality TV character. Wireless websites are lacing sports scores and news digests with banner ads for Lexus (TM), Burger King (BKC) and Sheraton (HOT). A few companies are even customizing 10-second video ads for short, TV-style episodes that are edging their way onto mobile phones.

""The days of doing a TV spot and reaching everybody are dwindling," says Jon Raj, Visa's new-media ad chief. "The mobile phone is very personal, and it's always with you."

"Yet it's the intimate, insistent nature of cellphones that has made wireless carriers cautious about embracing mobile marketing, out of fear of turning off subscribers. Pushing tiny buttons to navigate the wireless Web or send a message can be clunky. And because subscribers typically pay for their minutes of data usage, many people don't want to burn them on ads.

"We need to make sure whatever we do is not perceived as intrusive," says Verizon Wireless (VZ) digital media chief John Harrobin."

Lots more useful info on the article.