BARCELONA \u2013 Having watched as Facebook and Google became \u201ca real duopoly\u201d in the mobile marketing space, telecommunications companies around the world are locked in an arms race to produce content and reap advertising revenue. \u201cTelcos are just understanding that they sit on a huge data lake with first-party data that has incredible value, especially when we are moving to addressable media,\u201d says Dominique Delport, the Global MD of Havas Media Group.<\/p>\n
In this interview with Beet.TV at the Mobile World Congress 2017, Delport opines that while this year is one of transition and incremental innovation, there\u2019s no ignoring the strides being made by telcos. \u201cThey are organizing our digital life. They just want to be back in the race,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence is one means of gaining the upper hand with mobile users. Delport cites Telef\u00f3nica\u2019s announcement at MWC heralding its new AURA platform, which the company describes<\/a> as \u201cthe basis for a new relationship model with customers.\u201d AURA will make \u201ccognitive sense\u201d out of the flow of user data while giving users the means to control which data are used, the company says.<\/p>\n Augmented knowledge about mobile device users, including sharing of devices, will help telcos understand \u201call these weak signals that will be activated for advertising purposes,\u201d Delport says.<\/p>\n Surveying the landscape of major U.S. players like AT&T and Verizon upping the ante on content creation, he says it\u2019s a clear sign that \u201cconvergence is back.\u201d It\u2019s a major reason why telcos induce users to sign up for bigger data packages so that they spend more time consuming content.<\/p>\n Responding to the desire for premium content, Vivendi Content in Latin America and Europe recently launched Studio+<\/a>, which the company describes as \u201cthe first global premium short series offer for mobiles.\u201d Delport, who is also Chairman of Vivendi Content, describes the offering as 10-minute episodes in a series of 10.<\/p>\n The backdrop to the telcos\u2019 advertising and content plays is the increasing integration on the part of \u00a0Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. \u201cThey are fascinating but also a bit scary for the other players,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Delport refers to a prediction that in the next three years, 80% of mobile bandwidth will be consumed by mobile video. \u201cIt\u2019s just beginning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n