What advertisers can do with 72.1 million LTE subscriptions in Asia-Pacific

LTE, a 4G mobile broadband technology, has the potential to provide higher data speeds to smartphone users. According to Amobee CEO Trevor Healy, normal 3G provides speeds of about 12 mbps (megabits per second), whereas 4G can range from 75 to 100 mbps.

However, before advertisers bank on a constant speedy flow of data, they should check local 4G data pricing plans, cautioned Napoleon Biggs, managing director at Inspire Digital Asia and CSO for the Gravitas Group.

On average, the world’s telcos price 4G data plans 20 per cent higher than 3G data plans, according to ABI. Nevertheless, the same study found that the world’s cheapest pricing plan (as at October 2012) was offered by CSL Hong Kong.

“4G technology has given operators not just greater download speeds, but also greater capacity,” said ABI research associate Marina Lu. “As 4G devices come down in price, operators will be keen to increase 4G market share.”

If priced affordably, however, LTE subscriptions are a powerful development for mobile advertisers, said Phalgun Raju, vice-president and general manager for InMobi India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. “With the speeds of LTE, it is possible to have even more interactive or asset heavier ad units, such as longer videos baked in, app or content downloads, where the weight of the ad unit is less of a constraint for those accessing through LTE.”

When it comes to leveraging greater speeds, the most obvious benefit for advertisers lies in gaming and video, said Biggs. But greater speeds also ensure a more painless user experience, so in the long run, advertisers can look to more interactive ideas.

“Imagine if you had a creative format that combined multimedia with location. From a video they can immediately be led to maps, which will direct them where they need to go in a relatively painless fashion,” suggested Biggs. “Basically it offers the advertiser a lot more. Bandwidth is a trigger, but content can be very different.”

Brands can also start to invest in richer mobile experiences such as 3D and augmented reality, noted Healy. “Ad formats, such as 3D, are easily executed in a 4G environment. These formats can provide highly engaging experiences, allowing consumers to explore a product from different angles with different colours, providing an almost showroom-like experience.”

For a few more years, however, brands should still consider consumers who are not yet on LTE, and may still be on 2.5G or 3G, added Raju. “It will continue to be important to solve all these access scenarios in the near-term when designing your mobile rich-media campaign.”