The Smart Phone Revolution – And Advertising’s Biggest Opportunity

I was a little slow to make the transistion to a smart phone (a web enabled touch screen cell phone), but since I bought my iPhone just over a year ago it has become the most useful and essential piece of technology I own.  And I am certainly not alone. The statistics on Smart Phone adoption are staggering:

• In one year Smart Phone ownership has tripled!  24 million Americans now own one.
• By the end of 2010 it is estimated that over 50% of the population will have shifted to a Smart Phone – over 150 million users.

This is impressive when compared to almost any technological advancement in history.  And it will certainly signal a major shift in advertising.  For the first time in history people will carry a device with them at almost all times that knows the following:

•  Where they are.
• What they like to buy, watch, eat, drink – all their buying habits.
• What they are looking for.
• Who they like to hang out with.
• What the weather is like at their current location.

In fact, the amount of info your phone potentially knows about you could be frightening and poses huge privacy risks.  But the upside if it can be managed is tremendous user convenience.  And for the advertising industry, it will be monumental – bigger than the invention of television and radio combined.