O2 UK: 1M opt-in to mobile ads

Over one million of its subscribers have opted-in to O2's More service within a year of its launch. The company said that More encouraged its customers to receive opt-in texts or MMS-based adverts when a brand with a relevant offering launched a marketing campaign via the service.

The company said that its message-based advertising service had been used by over 50 brands, including Blockbuster, Cadbury and Interflora, to promote their products.

The operator's Media MD, Shaun Gregory, said, "The fact that over one million of our customers have chosen O2 More speaks volumes about how permission-based marketing can address challenges around privacy."

Orange and Vodafone have launched similar opt-in ad services in Europe based upon the Blyk messaging platform.

Recent research published by the Mobile Marketing Association claims that over 30 per cent of UK consumers felt they would be more likely to respond to an advert that provided the option of responding by mobile phone. The figures were slightly lower in France with 24 per cent of consumers, and lower again in Germany where only 20 per cent indicated an interest.

Consumers in all three markets thought that TV advertising was the media where a mobile response would be most effective. However, the French were most likely to respond via mobile after seeing ads on PC/laptops or print magazines, while direct mail came out on top for consumer response via mobile in Germany.

For more on this story:
- read NMA

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