????投放了移動廣告的公司發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個不同尋常的全新促銷秘訣：通過智能手機廣告，讓消費者直接點擊廣告撥打電話給賣家。

????毫無疑問，移動業(yè)務已經(jīng)成了廣告業(yè)最熱門的領域之一。據(jù)研究機構尼爾森公司（Nielsen）的統(tǒng)計，在過去兩年里，美國的智能手機用戶已經(jīng)增加了一倍多.2011年，美國的智能手機用戶已占到所有手機用戶的44%。這些高級手機設備帶動了數(shù)據(jù)消費的飆升。據(jù)谷歌（Google）公司稱，在美國，69%的智能手機用戶每天都會使用智能手機上網(wǎng)。美國的數(shù)據(jù)流量在2011年上升了89%。另據(jù)數(shù)字營銷公司eMarketer的數(shù)據(jù)，到2012年末，美國的移動廣告消費有望從2011年的14.5億美元上升到26.1億美元。

????移動廣告消費的增長也催生了一場激烈的競賽。目前，谷歌在這場競賽中暫時領先，這要歸功于谷歌強大的搜索功能和海量的安卓（Android）設備。2010年，谷歌出價7.5億美元，擊敗了蘋果公司（Apple），成功收購移動廣告公司AdMob。同年，蘋果也推出了自己的iAd網(wǎng)絡。iAd可允許廣告商在iOS系統(tǒng)的應用程序中植入豐富的多媒體廣告，包括視頻和動畫等。由于蘋果的移動廣告業(yè)務并不火爆，該公司最近聘用了Adobe公司的前高管托德?泰雷西來對iAd進行改組。連Facebook也想在這場廣告大戰(zhàn)中分一杯羹。Facebook在近日提交的IPO文件中暗示自己也有進軍移動廣告業(yè)務的計劃。

????早期的移動營銷人員感到意外的是，最近移動廣告領域流行的并不是某種花哨的新廣告形式，而是讓用戶打電話。谷歌目前在移動廣告領域處于主宰地位。去年，谷歌獨占美國移動廣告收入的半數(shù)以上，鯨吞了移動搜索廣告市場的95%和移動顯示廣告市場的25%。2010年，谷歌推出了一種廣告，用戶只需在廣告上輕輕一點就可快速撥打電話。現(xiàn)在，谷歌的廣告每月可吸引用戶撥打超過1,000萬個電話。

????有些公司長期以來一直非常依賴電話銷售開展新業(yè)務，他們非常歡迎這種廣告形式。以舊金山的Esurance在線汽車保險公司為例，該公司表示它投放的點擊撥打電話廣告使該公司營銷活動的功效提高了25%左右。盡管不愿披露更多細節(jié)，但該公司還是透露，與普通的咨詢電話相比，來自這些廣告的電話更容易促成銷售。Esurance公司在線營銷主任托麗西婭?科恩威貝爾稱：“很多人希望通過打電話完成最終的交易。”

????Companies diving into mobile advertising have found success getting consumers to do something unusual with their smartphones: make calls.

????It's no surprise that the mobile space has become one of the hottest areas in advertising. According to research firm Nielsen, smartphone ownership in the U.S. has more than doubled in the past two years, climbing to 44% of mobile users in 2011. Sophisticated handsets have created a surge in data consumption as well. According to Google (GOOG), 69% of American smartphone users access the Internet every day. Data usage in the U.S. was up 89% in 2011. By the end of 2012, U.S. mobile ad spending is expected to reach $2.61 billion -- up from $1.45 billion in 2011 -- according to digital marketing firm eMarketer.

????That growth has created a heated race. Google leads thanks to its powerful search franchise and its Android devices. The company beat out Apple in a deal to acquire AdMob in 2010 for $750 million. That same year, Apple (AAPL) launched its iAd network, which allows advertisers to place rich media ads that include video and animations in iOS apps. While the mobile advertising business has had muted results so far, the company recently hired former Adobe (ADBE) executive Todd Teresi in an effort to revamp it. Even Facebook is looking to get a piece of the pie. The popular social network recently hinted to moving into the mobile ad space in the IPO it filed last week.

????So it may seem odd that what has taken centerstage for early mobile marketers is not a new breed of flashy advertisement but something rather more analog, making calls. Google is dominant in mobile advertising. Last year, the Internet search leader occupied more than half of U.S. mobile ad revenues, accounting for some 95% of the mobile search ad market and 25% of the mobile display market last year. In 2010, the company enabled ads that could be tapped to make a call, speed dial in disguise. Now, Google ads generate more than 10 million calls a month.

????Naturally, the approach has proved popular with firms that have long relied on call centers to generate new business. Take Esurance, the San Francisco-based auto insurance firm that provides services online. The company says that click-to-call ads have improved the efficacy of its marketing campaign some 25%. While it won't release specifics, it says calls coming from such ads were more likely to result in sales than typical phone inquiries. "So many people want their final transactions to be over the phone," says Esurance Director of Online Marketing Tolithia Kornweibel.