General News
The Need for Operators to Tap into Expanding Mobile Advertising Segment
Outside providing subscribers access to internet as well as rolling out enterprise solutions for corporate customers, mobile network operators are also provided with the opportunity of maximizing the use of their technology through mobile advertisement.
Mobile network operators in Nigeria today have the required technology to deliver short message service, video and picture messages.
One then wonders why they are not exploring mobile advertising option to enhance their revenue base which invariable could help in driving down voice call tariff.
Mobile Marketing refer to one of the two categories of marketing refer to one of marketing, first and relatively new, it meant to describe marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a mobile phone.
According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the total value of the global real-time mobile location-based advertising and marketing (LBA) market will grow from EUR 192 million in 2011 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 91 percent to EUR 4.9 billion in 2016.
This will then correspond to 28.3 percent of all mobile advertising and marketing.
This means that location-based advertising and marketing will represent more than 4 percent of digital advertising, or 1 percent of the total global ad spend for all media.
The report predicts a rapid uptake of location-targeting among mobile advertisers after having remained on an experimental stage for several years.
“The growing attach rates of location technologies in handsets and the increasing consumer acceptance of location-based services in general are the main game changers”, said Rickard Andersson, Telecom Analyst, Berg Insight.
Targeting by location in combination with other contextual and behavioural segmentation greatly enhances the relevance of mobile advertising.
“Major brands are progressively embracing location-based advertising across the range of mobile formats, and LBA also opens up the mobile channel for new advertisers such as local merchants”, said Mr. Andersson.
He added that SMS, mobile search and coupons have emerged as important high-volume LBA formats.
The LBA value chain is still forming and there are a large number of players involved in the ecosystem.
Since the value chain is fragmented and the industry has not yet reached maturity, many different roles are involved.
Major digital and telecom players such as Google, Apple and Nokia are competing to gain market shares in the space alongside mobile operators, LBS players, location-aware apps and media, mobile coupon providers, mobile search companies and proximity marketing providers.
There is further a range of specialised LBA actors, including Placecast, xAd and Xtify. The traditional mobile advertising providers have also intensified their focus on location targeting, in some cases even through acquisitions.
Further consolidation is expected as small players with innovative advertising solutions are absorbed by larger players in the industry.
Location-based services (LBS) are offered by some cell phone networks as a way to send custom advertising and other information to cell-phone subscribers based on their current location.
The cell-phone service provider gets the location from a GPS chip built into the phone or using radiolocation and trilateration based on the signal-strength of the closest cell-phone towers (for phones without GPS features).
Ugo Okoye, managing director of Iconcepts Limited, said that introduction of proximity marketing into the mobile marketing industry will no doubt make a big difference in the way brands reach their consumers with tailor-made messages that suit their purpose.
According to Okoye, ‘for the first time, brands using proximity marketing technology can ensure that they reach their target audience at a time and place that put their messages in a direct and relevant context to the consumer’s current activity.
“The ability to communicate with consumers bases on their presence in a fixed time and place is one of the great features of proximity advertising technique as it makes it possible to access people at various points with tailor-made offers precisely to suit them,” he said.
Advertisement through mobile phones offers operators another avenue of revenue source to complement that of voice and data service. In this time of drop in revenue from voice service as a result of harsh economic condition, operators need to create awareness on the use to be able to maximize the benefit.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathering that Nigeria marketing communications is worth over $4 billion. Nigeria Marketing Association, Apcon said that the sector became vibrant with the liberalization of the telecommunications sector which witnessed a boost as a result of operators’ use of the medium to reach their subscribers in one promotion or the other.
The association which is presently using television viewer ship mostly in their advertising campaigns is considering mobile marketing because television viewer ship is declining at a fast rate for some reasons, such as influx of cheap Chinese pirated movies, electricity failures, absence of prime time TV shows and absence of national Television stations.
Radio, the association said, has its own challenges too and outdoor is location specific.
According to a report by Apcon, mobile is the only medium with anywhere and anytime advantage with possibilities to accommodate all array of features like video, Multimedia Messaging Service, pictures, Short Message Service, internet and among others.
Mobile is a more powerful personal medium than any other, and it is time that Nigeria Brands exploited the opportunity.
Possible Channels
Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular ever since the rise of SMS (Short Message Service) in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia, when businesses started to collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted or unwanted content.
Marketing communications companies in Nigeria lately are using SMS to send advertising content to mobile subscribers.
It has become a common experience for one to receive SMS from companies on the prices of their product.
One key criterion for provisioning is that the consumer opts in to the service.
The mobile operators demand a double opt in from and the ability for the consumer opt out of the service at any time by sending the word STOP via SMS.
These guidelines are established in the MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines which are followed by all mobile marketers in the United States. This has not started working in the country.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has launched a digital platform to attract local and international investors to Nigeria’s sub-national infrastructure projects and close the country’s estimated $100 billion annual financing gap.
Unveiled in Abuja, Investopedia will serve as a transparent “one-stop shop” for investment opportunities across Nigeria’s 36 states, said the forum, offering detailed project information and clear entry points for prospective investors.
NGF chairman and Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, described the initiative as a “strategic tool to unlock Nigeria’s full potential by mobilising global and African capital for critical infrastructure”.
He stressed that the platform should be seen as more than an investment catalogue, but a gateway that combines opportunities with guidance and institutional oversight.
Investopedia is backed by partnerships with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).
NGF director-general, Abdulateef Shittu, hailed the launch as a “new dawn” for sub-national investment readiness, noting that Nigeria attracted only $1.87 billion in foreign direct investment in 2023, well below Africa’s average.
By curating a pipeline of bankable projects, he said the platform would boost investor confidence and expand Nigeria’s global visibility.
Shittu added that beyond financing, the platform would foster technical partnerships, capacity-building, and risk mitigation, laying the groundwork for sustainable economic growth.
“This is about more than funding, it is about actionable, bankable projects that will drive jobs, inclusive growth, and long-term prosperity,” he said.
IHS Nigeria has partnered with the Osun State Government on Osun Teacher-Shift 2025, a programme aimed at transforming technical and vocational school teachers into digital-ready educators capable of driving innovation in classrooms.
The IHS Nigeria sponsored initiative, implemented by Focus Teens Foundation in collaboration with the Osun State Board of Technical and Vocational Education, targets about 200 teachers across the State’s nine technical colleges. The training will run in batches over a two-day period, with participants expected to acquire modern skills, and innovative teaching techniques.
Speaking at the opening ceremony which held in Osogbo yesterday, Titilope Oguntuga, Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, explained that the project was developed to prepare teachers for the opportunities and challenges of a fast-evolving world.
She said, “Today is not just the launch of a programme — it is the beginning of a movement. This is more than training, it is a mindset shift. It is about rethinking how we prepare teachers, students, and our communities for the opportunities and challenges of a fast-evolving world.”
Oguntuga emphasised that teachers remain at the centre of national development but face increasing demands to inspire creativity, nurture innovation, and equip young people with practical and technology-driven skills.
She noted that the initiative also reflects IHS Nigeria’s four sustainability pillars — ethics and governance, environment and climate change, people and communities, and education and economic growth.
The IHS official said, “education remains the strongest catalyst for national development. But we cannot achieve this without empowering the people who will empower the next generation. With this programme, teachers and beneficiaries from the nine technical colleges will begin to think more innovatively and incorporate new systems that support STEM for the advancement of our nation.”
Oguntuga added that each school would be given routers with one year subscription.
Adedapo Ademola-Adesina, Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical and Vocational Education, noted that the State Government believes in private sector collaboration to achieve its goals for technical and vocational education, leading to the partnership with IHS Nigeria.
“We must begin by changing the mindset of our teachers. They are the ones who shape future leaders. That is why we tagged the program “Osun Teacher-Shift 2025” — shifting from the old ways to new digital teaching”, he said.
Also speaking, Sunday Eluwole, the Osun State Commissioner for Education, acknowledged that the training was both timely and necessary, saying; “this is the 21st century, and Nigeria cannot be left behind. Our schools, teachers, and classrooms must be digitalised. Teachers must first be trained in digital methods before they can pass the knowledge on to students.”
Eluwole added that Osun State, which has the highest number of technical colleges in the Country, is committed to making its schools models of digital and vocational learning.
Earlier, Muritala Jimoh, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, said that Osun State teachers are ready to shift. Jimoh noted that Governor Ademola Adeleke is prioritising teachers’ welfare in the state, hence their readiness to embrace the shift.
He called on teachers to reciprocate government’s efforts by making their minds flexible to change.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed all airlines operating in the country to ensure that passengers completely switch off their mobile phones during aircraft take-off and landing.
Michael Achimugu, director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCCA, disclosed the directive in a post on X on Tuesday.
He said the measure was part of a harmonisation of existing rules on the use of electronic devices onboard.
“Henceforth, the regulation per phones and other electronic devices in Nigeria has been unified: ALL PHONES MUST BE SWITCHED OFF DURING THE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF TAKE-OFF AND LANDING,” Achimugu wrote.
“All airlines must amend their security programmes to reflect this if different in their current programmes. No more airplane mode until regulations are reviewed to reflect evolving technological situations.”
The directive means that all airlines will have to adjust their operational manuals and cabin crew instructions to enforce the policy.
Reactions to the announcement have been mixed on social media, with some Nigerians questioning the relevance of the rule in light of advances in aircraft technology and onboard connectivity.
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