The space is getting crowded as more companies sharpen their focus on delivering the right ad to the right user. The mobile search engines (most notably JumpTap, Medio Systems and Yahoo) have thrown their weight behind schemes to deliver targeted and relevant advertising. More recently, browser companies, such as Openwave, have discovered the potentially lucrative niche. Finally, a slew of on-device software providers and UI companies have also joined the battle for a top-notch spot in the food chain. Can the emerging industry feed a mouth as big as Nokia’s?

Nokia obviously thinks so, and has launched two new mobile advertising services. The Nokia Ad Service “consists of a group of mobile publishers forming a mobile ad network and a platform to deploy, manage and optimize mobile advertising campaigns,” Nokia said in a statement. The Nokia Advertising Connector, a private label service for third-party publishers and advertisers “operates as an intelligent switch, selecting between text, visual, audio and video ads - depending on the user’s context.” Does context refer to the device – or could it extend to other scenarios that make use of Nokia’s prowess in mobile search, location services and recommendation?

And another mystery is the extent of Nokia’s newfound focus on content companies. In line with the Advertising Connector product, Nokia is “partnering with newspaper publishers, other traditional media companies, aggregators, platform companies, operators and internet companies to help them serve their current advertisers by offering easy access to a mobile audience,” Matthew Snyder, Head of Business Development, Nokia Multimedia, Advertising Business Program, said in a statement. Will operators appreciate the assistance and welcome Nokia’s efforts to build inventory for their mobile advertising schemes, or will they see this as a move on their turf? The jury is out at this point. Either way, mobile advertising had better take off fast because there are a lot of hungry mouths to feed, and none have a monopoly on the stated ability to deliver the right content to the right users with the right results. Release.
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