Even in a mobile-advanced country such as Japan, where everyone has a speedy multimedia handsets, many marketers are still not ready to use mobile campaigns, eMarketer reported.

According to a study conducted by the Nikkei Advertising Research Institute (NARI) in June 2008, nearly 62 percent of responding marketers in Japan said they were not interested in using mobile ads.

The study also found that picture, banner ads and mobile e-mail ads are three formats respondents had most interests in.

According to the research firm eMarketer, the NARI survey 2008 echoed findings from the 2007 survey. Among all the companies surveyed last year that advertised on mobile, about 75 percent said they sent picture ads, six out of 10 sent text ads, and four out of 10 sent mobile e-mail ads this year.

The main reason for marketers to focus on simple ad formats is that most mobile marketers are using the platform for direct response, eMarketer reported. Integrated campaigns involving mobile are still in the infancy.

"This is not a result of reluctance on the part of brands and their agencies to inject more brand-oriented messaging into mobile advertising. It is a direct result of the simple fact that mobile media in Japan seem more effective for sales promotion and direct response right now," according to John du Pre Gauntt, senior analyst at eMarketer.

Those companies using mobile ads in Japan are beyond the experimental budget phase, according to the May 2008 data from Seed Planning. Mobile ad spending in the country would exceed ¥250 billion (US$2.7 billion) in 2011, up from ¥100 million ($964 million) in 2008, eMarketer reported.

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