Mobile advertising creeps out onto the handset itself with Nokia branding offer

Nokia is exploring the possibilities of big label branded mobile handsets to attract “brand advocates”, according to AdvertisingAge. The idea is that fans of certain brands or labels would be happy to display their loyalty on their actual handsets, in return for access to exclusive on-phone content related to that brand, and a possible price subsidy from the brand.

The service, from Nokia Interactive, would basically work like this: a brand chooses a Nokia phone that it believes appeals to it’s target demographic. It pays Nokia for a physically branded version of that handset and it’s accessories, with exclusive content or apps embedded on it. Then, hopefully, the brands big fans will snatch it up, to proudly display it’s logo.

The service has been tested in Brazil already, where branded handsets were sold in-store for between 50 and 150 euro. Nokia is in talks T-Mobile and AT&T for possible distribution deals, and the service is expected to be launched in the US in the second half of 2009. 

What we think?

I will be genuinely surprised if this service sees a lot of use in the US. As Advertising Age points out, Brazilians have a much more provider-friendly attitude towards content than Americans do. As in, they are happy to regularly pay for mobile content like music, which you really can’t say about European and Northern American consumers. More than that though, the very personal nature of a mobile device means that, for consumers, buying a branded phone like this is close to having the brand logo stuck to the back of your head. The content (or the price) will need to be spectacular to attract Western users to this one.