Vodafone and Yahoo partner in mobile advertising

Yahoo and Vodafone have announced a partnership, in what could be the first of its kind in the advertising world. Details at this point are limited, but the gist of it, is that Yahoo will be providing targeted advertising to Vodafone customers. These customers will be able to opt in to view these adverts, and in return, receive a discount on Vodafone services. It’s not clear whether this will be in the form of discounted calling or texts, or whether it might be access to Vodafone Live! content.

The scheme is being run as a pilot in the UK, and is set to hit our phones in the first half of 2007. Commenters have noticed with interest the fact that it’s Yahoo who are first to partner, as opposed to the more powerful Google. It has been suggested that this because Google ave historically been slow to enter into partnerships, as well as the fact that the Google brand is likely to dominate in any partnership with a carrier. So, the beginning of mobile advertising is here. The question is, how long will it take to truly take off?