As you're walking past Tower Records, cell phone in hand, an ad offering a discount on a CD by your favorite musician pops up on your cell phone screen.
Wireless ads can potentially deliver customized marketing messages at the right place and time.
The allure of advertising to wireless devices lies in the huge potential of delivering customized marketing messages to consumers at the right place and time. According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, wireless service subscribers in the United States totaled 100 million, or 36 percent of the population in July, 2000. About 67,000 new users subscribe to wireless services each day. However, while most industry members agree that advertising via wireless devices holds potential, companies and industry executives are cautious, especially after they saw Internet advertisers struggle to find the right formula. Companies want to make sure their ads will draw a positive response.