Top Online Advertiser Making a Raw Impression
Zachary Rodgers
ClickZ Network
December 17, 2007
Some call it questionable advertising. Others call it
marketing to children. But wherever they stand on Mobile
Messenger's business model, most agree it pushes the
limits of what should be acceptable practice.
What, you've never heard of the company? That's probably
because the Australia-based mobile content seller only
recently entered the U.S. market. But it's entered with
a vengeance, quickly becoming the top online advertiser
here in terms of raw sponsored link impressions through
its affiliates, according to Nielsen Online figures for
October.
Mobile and Web marketing watchers say Mobile Messenger
deploys questionable marketing practices in online ads
and landing pages to get young mobile phone users to
sign up for expensive mobile horoscopes, "flirting
tips," and other content services that are billed
through their carriers. The service can cost anywhere
from $9.99 per month to $5.99 a week, depending on the
carrier.
It does this by leveraging a network of affiliate
partners who run ads and host Web sites on its behalf.
WhoHasaCrushOnYou.com, UrFortuneRevealed.com,
WishforSanta.com and dozens like it appear to offer one
service and actually deliver another -- that is, if the
outraged Internet postings of hordes of young mobile
subscribers and their parents are any indication.
"OMG! I am only 13 and I got in so much trouble when my
parents got the cell phone bill," wrote one of the
victims, Brittany, commenting on a blog post about
Mobile Messenger's services. "Whoever made this should
be sued! Is it even legal?"
The answer to Brittany's question is no, according to
the Florida Attorney General's office. Michael Palecki,
Tallahassee bureau chief for the Florida AG, told ClickZ
the office believes Mobile Messenger is in violation of
Florida laws covering misleading marketing practice.
"We're familiar with Mobile Messenger," Palecki said.
"They are on our radar screen. Any company that uses
deceptive advertising with young people... will be
targeted. We believe the advertising they are doing is
in violation of Florida law." He wouldn't say whether
his office is investigating this company.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also specifies
disclosures about the terms of an offer must be clear
and conspicuous. Several ClickZ sources familiar with
the company's practices said Mobile Messenger's offers
don't pass a gut check for that requirement.
In ads purchased by the millions from MySpace, Mobile
Messenger and its affiliates make pitches such as, "Your
Crush's Name Is... Click the button!" and "When Will You
Die?" and "Who Will U Marry? Click here to find out."
When they click, users are taken to a landing page
offering a fun and colorful quiz, where people enter
their name, age, and astrological sign before being
asked to provide a cell phone number. By entering a PIN
number sent to their mobile device from the Web site,
the user promises to pay as much as $5.99 per week
through their carrier bill.
Problem is, the billing disclosures on many of Mobile
Messenger's sites are in the fine print.
In some cases they appear in a tiny font relative to the
site's promotional copy, which makes no mention of cost.
In other cases, they appear in tan text against a brown
background, or in rose against a pink background.
Occasionally, the billing information loads several
seconds after the promotional copy, letting users
respond to the pitch before learning its cost.
(To view examples of an ad and landing page featuring
Mobile Messenger's offers, click here and here)
"There's certainly an element of misdirection here,"
said Eric Goldman, an attorney and a professor at Santa
Clara University School of Law. "You can't make up that
someone has a crush on you and sell access to that if
there's nothing behind it, if it's all make believe."
Lately the company has added a new, holiday-themed twist
to its marketing ploy. A recently created landing page
at WishforSanta.com displays a warm Christmas scene,
complete with glowing hearth, stockings, wrapped gifts,
and Tannenbaum. Visitors are asked to specify whether
they are a "boy" or "girl." Multiple sources concurred
the page could be construed as a bid to reach those
under 13, in violation of child marketing regulations.
An MMA member, Mobile Messenger declined an interview
request, but did issue a statement.
"As a company Mobile Messenger and its clients adhere to
the regulations set by the Mobile Marketing Association
and all carriers across the US," it said in part. "The
business model operated within the US for premium cell
phone services is a highly regulated industry. Consumers
must double opt-in, meaning they must verify they are
the owner of the device and are accepting the chargers."
Yet while the company requires people to verify they own
a mobile device, the Mobile Marketing Association's (MMA)
requirements go further than that, insisting any
promotional offer must "clearly indicate whether the
service is a subscription." Many sites run by Mobile
Messenger and its partners don't do that.
Additionally, the MMA just updated its guidelines to add
an affiliate marketing clause that states "jump pages
and landing pages must be controlled and managed by the
applicable content provider."
"Affiliate marketing has been a problem," MMA CEO Laura
Marriott told ClickZ.
Mobile Messenger's MMA membership remains in good
standing and the company has sponsored some of the
group's events. However, Marriott said she was unaware
of many of the sites such as those listed above that
have been advertised so heavily online.
MySpace, which has sold a vast quantity of ads to Mobile
Messenger and its affiliates, declined to comment for
this story. However a source familiar with the situation
suggested executives are well aware of the vast number
-- and misleading nature -- of the ads they've sold to
the company and its affiliates. According to the source,
ad placements on MySpace generated approximately 50
percent of Mobile Messenger revenue as of last week.
Other sources of inventory have included Google AdWords
and Yahoo Search Marketing, although the source said
Google has already blocked the ads. Additionally, this
individual added Mobile Messenger has already determined
its days advertising on MySpace may be numbered.
As of December 14, MySpace continued to sell large
volumes of remnant inventory to Mobile Messenger
partners. Those affiliates include firms like Tatto
Media, Incentaclick, and AdAxiom, firms that host
landing pages or redirects to pages with Mobile
Messenger promotions. Without MySpace's willingness to
sell bulk ads to them, Mobile Messenger would have a
very hard time netting customers, Jupiter Research
analyst Emily Riley said.
The Florida AG now says it's begun to investigate Web
sites that play host to misleading and deceptive ads, as
well as other stakeholders such as mobile carriers,
affiliate networks and billing aggregators.
The AG is waging an ongoing campaign against what it
views as deceptively marketed mobile content services,
having recently won a $1 million "contribution" from
AzoogleAds, and slapped ringtones marketer Buongiorno
USA with a lawsuit.
"We want Web sites to know they're not going to be
immune," said Bureau Chief Palecki. "They will be next.
We hope that some of these Web sites will start to look
at the ads they're putting on those sites and will tell
those entities that are fraudulently advertising that
they're not welcome."