Consumers Suspicious Of Mobile Marketing Pushes

According to a recent report, consumers are feeling increasingly out of control of the personal data stored on their phones, and the persistent efforts from mobile marketers is doing little to improve the situation.

Of 8,000 mobile users polled in January, three-quarters said they do not trust even well-known marketing brands to appropriately guard their data’s integrity. More than half — 55 percent — noted that their trust had been sharply eroded in recent years.

The poll spoke to consumers across major mobile markets worldwide — Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, India, South Korea and the United States — and spells some trouble for advertising pros looking increasingly to reach out and touch consumers via marketing material delivered to their cell phones.

When asked about their willingness to share data in return for better, more personalized service, the results were less than encouraging. Only 14 percent were open to it; almost a third were willing to share nothing at all.

“The assumption is that end users will willingly share personal data in return for personalized services,” the report’s authors stated. “But it looks like this assumption is wrong.”

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s Three UK and Three Italy announced last week an intention to install ad-blocking technology in their networks so as to protect their mobile customers from unwanted marketing messages.

“Irrelevant and excessive mobile ads annoy customers,” Three UK Chief Marketing Officer Tom Malleschitz said in a statement. “The industry has to work together to give customers mobile ads they want.”

“Retailers, hoteliers, financial institutions and mobile operators need to rethink their approach to harvesting, managing and using private data,” the report concluded.