BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 11, 2000 ISSUE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Wireless Ads: Methods to the Madness SUBSIDIZE Companies are handing out phones or free airtime to those who agree to accept ad messages on those phones. In Hong Kong, Peoples Telephone's mSpot service has nearly 90,000 subscribers who receive up to 25% discounts on airtime after listening to 10-second local ads. PAY USERS DIRECTLY Adbroadcast.com in Baltimore pays wireless users 5 cents to 50 cents for each ad viewed on a cell phone. The more targeted the ad, the higher the payout. The company claims 125,000 users after seven months--far less than the 500,000 expected. BANNER AND TEXT ADS These are old-fashioned ad snippets. You're surfing your phone for restaurant info, so why not view an ad for a nearby pasta joint? Small screens and poor video quality could discourage use on cell phones, though. Look for these instead on wireless personal digital assistants. DIRECT-MARKETING PROMOTIONS The model with the most potential. You tell an advertiser you want alerts on, say, last-minute theater tickets sent to your phone. User consent is crucial. Plugout.com has already enraged consumers and legislators after sending out wireless ''spam'' to 10,000 AT&T ''mobile users without those customers' permission. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS From Cell Phones to Sell Phones TABLE: Wireless Ads: Methods to the Madness INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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