Smart redoubles mobile ad efforts

Smart Communications Inc., a unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., is seeking to increase its presence in the digital advertising business, a relatively small but fast growing industry, a company official said on Thursday.

The move, aimed at monetizing its massive mobile subscriber base, involves encouraging subscribers to register to receive mobile ads, which consumer giants like Unilever and Nestle have started to use, Smart media convergence group head Leah Camilla Besa-Jimenez told reporters in a briefing.

She said digital advertising is estimated to be a P2.2-billion industry, or less than five percent of the country’s total advertising spending, which mainly goes to traditional formats like television.

But the prevalence of smartphones and tablet computers means there was a chance for Smart to again grow this segment, after previous attempts failed to yield positive results.

Smart, through Smart Ads, currently targets about 12 million registered subscribers that have agreed to receive ads, with 28 percent of these located in Metro Manila, she said. There was also room to grow given that PLDT’s mobile business has a total of 72 million subscribers, she added.

Jimenez declined to give Smart’s current market share in digital advertising, however, she noted that that industry grows by roughly a third annually.