MTV makes mobile play to attract brand advertising

Not wanting to be outdone by Apple or Google, MTV Networks has announced a partnership with Crisp Media, a mobile advertising company. It’s not an out-and-out purchase like the other two are trying, but it will set Crisp up as the mobile advertising provider for any brands who want to run campaigns through MTV.

What’s the deal?

MTV is no stranger to “getting with the kids” - in fact, it’s entire business model is based on it. And MTV seems to be betting that smartphones are going to be where it’s at. Crisp Media describes itself as a “rich media” advertiser. So you’re unlikely to see too many simply SMS campaigns from this crew. It will be creating interactive campaigns aimed directly at smartphone owners, using features that high-end devices would have. Animations, video, LBS and social networking will be integral.

Tom Foran is the Chief Revenue Officer for Crisp Wireless, and claims that the reason for this “rich” formatting is because of the MTV audience. “MTV Networks’ audiences require creativity and innovation to capture their interest and tickle their curiosity” he said.

What we think?

I’m very much of two minds about this deal. On the one hand, I quite like how bluff Crisp Wireless is. It is very forthright about the fact that it isn’t interested in simple SMS or mobile banner advertising. It wants to create campaigns targeted at people who are both interested in MTV and are smartphone owners.

Which is where my second thoughts jump in. How big is that audience? I’ll admit I’m not an expert on MTV audience demographics, but I would have thought they were pretty young. And all evidence points to the fact that teenage phone owners don’t play about with the mobile internet and smartphones very much. That’s 18-24 year-olds you’re looking at there. Teenagers just want a bunch of free texts, for the most part. But to balance that out, you have to bear in mind that MTV has been using mobile as a channel for years now, much longer than most other companies out there. You have to assume that it knows what it’s doing by now.

So I’m absolutely confident that Crisp will create some awesome ad campaigns for MTV. I’m just not sure how many people will see them.