JupiterResearch has reported that, beyond SMS marketing, most mobile marketing tactics are still in their infancy and will struggle to meet initial high expectations. According to a recent report, Mobile Advertising in Europe: Achieving Search and Display Revenues in the Long Term, mobile search and display revenues are expected to together reach 1.3 billion euros by 2012.

Consumers' limited willingness to pay for mobile content coupled with convergence of the free Internet will foster and drive the emergence of ad-funded business models. Thanks to more affordable multimedia handsets, enhanced networks and transparent data plans, 40 percent of mobile users will regularly access the mobile Internet in five years' time.

"The mobile advertising market will grow significantly over the next few years and move from its current trial stage to a more mature business where stakeholders will leverage consumers' uptake of mobile data services" said Thomas Husson, Senior Mobile Analyst at JupiterResearch.

However, according to the report the relatively small audience of mobile media users, coupled with the lack of critical mass of educated advertisers able to analyze and measure return on investment will restrain mobile media's potential in the midterm going. Looking forward, once stakeholders implement interoperable and independent standards and reliable indicators of ROI, mobile will increasingly be part of the marketing mix.

"Mobile advertising is destined to be a multi-billion euro industry," stated David Schatsky, president of JupiterResearch. "But the maturation of this industry could take a decade," he continued. "Advertisers tend to be slow to react to consumers' changing behaviors and will need more than encouraging trials and early click-through rates to begin to invest massively in this nascent medium."

For more information on JupiterResearch's European Mobile research service, please contact Kevin Savage by phone +44 (0) 7703 063 958 or email. For more information on the JupiterResearch European research services visit www.jupiterresearch.com.

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