Wirelessnorth.ca

Google made a nifty announcement yesterday that they were launching mobile image ads. Googles says image ads have a few advantages, they are specially sized for mobile, they link only to mobile-readable sites, they are stronger for brand-building and earn higher click-thrus. These ads are available in “Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the US” – no Canada. Not worth the investment apparently.

A source at Google Canada let us know that mobile text ads are available in Canada however offered no ETA for the availability for images.

A lot of people ask us this question, how will I monetize my content in the mobile world? And the answer is that advertising ultimately has to play big role in the mobile value chain. The trick is mobile content and and mobile advertising are a chicken and egg problem. They’ll both need to grow together.

A few industry speakers at ICE08 in Toronto referenced the statistic that mobile ads were fetching CPMs (cost per mille or thousand impressions) upwards of $80 (compared to a few cents to a few dollars for online ads). However no one seemed to remember exactly who’s deal that was (if you do let us know).

They say that advertisers are hungry for mobile inventory. Which make makes some sense if you ask me, the $80 may say more about a scarcity of M’s than a preponderance of C’s.

There’s no doubt that Canada’s history of high data rates and an epidemic of mid to low-end phones with weak browsers have slowed the market in Canada.

It’s not that big a deal to be shut out by one particular mobile ad platform. However, just once, WirelessNorth.ca would like to see Canada counted as a first world country in the new mobile economy.

And dear CRTC if you are out there listening, these market realities are just another little tidbit of evidence why an under-competitive telecom industry in Canada holds back Canadian content creators and holds back Canadian culture from having a voice in the future of media.