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Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
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'Waiting for the Kiss of Life'

Mobile Media and Advertising

Rowan Wilken

University of Melbourne, Australia

John Sinclair

University of Melbourne, Australia, j.sinclair{at}unimelb.edu.au

Mobile media, especially cellphones, are now seen and heard everywhere, forming an intrinsic part of the daily lives and habits of billions of people worldwide. Curiously, despite this wide diffusion and remarkable rate of adoption, as an advertising platform the cellphone is, in the words of one commentator, still very much ‘a mass medium waiting for the kiss of life’. This article examines why this is the case, by exploring the ‘complex mobile phone ecosystem’ and the factors that contribute to the rather hesitant adoption of mobile advertising, with particular attention to the inherent conflicts amongst the interested parties in the system. It does this through a meta-analysis of themes and issues evinced in mainstream media and the advertising trade press. Study of this data is supplemented by drawing on a number of critical studies within the available research literature on the subject.

Key Words: advertising • cellphone • mobile media • phone

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Vol. 15, No. 4, 427-445 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1354856509342343
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