Sprint Nextel, the infamous strange bedfellows that merged into an awkward single entity, is now considering stepping into the controversial waters of mobile advertising.
While a customer’s personal information was ruthlessly guarded by the major US carriers for a long time, they are slowly beginning to release such data in order to target ads in a manner far more precise and surgical than ever imagined.
Sprint Nextel appears to be the first to take the plunge, if not with slippers and a low profile.
A wireless customer’s personal information is at once a major hot button and an irresistible temptation for advertisers. When you consider the comprehensive information combined with the ability to actually know where a customer is at any given moment, you can understand the enticement.
Advertisers would know the customer’s name, age, billing address, usage habits and whereabouts in real time. Want to target college men who like beer? Want to reach drivers who buy online while traveling?
The possibilities are endless, and unnerving.
Until now carriers have been careful not to share such information out of fear of betraying a trust. This has left mobile advertisers with little intel to go on in delivering the right message to the right potential customer.
Sprint Nextel may be the hole in the dike.
While no one enjoys junk mail, it’s only junk if it’s poorly targeted to uninterested people.
In time, mobile advertising may usher in a fundamental shift in the modalities of how merchandisers reach their customers.
Then again, it might really tick folks off! We’ll be watching this one.
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