It is quite significant -- and not a little surprising -- that most of the marketers surveyed by Reveries Magazine endorsed the potential of mobile phones as a medium for marketing.

Forty-six percent of the 401 surveyed marketers said the viability of mobile phones as a marketing medium is "good", "very good" or "excellent" today. By the same measure, 64 percent felt that mobile marketing would be "good" or better as a medium five years from now.

This result is remarkable in that relatively little marketing is done across mobile phones today and not much exists in the way of response/retention/decay norms. Adding to those challenges, the major carriers have different technologies and price structures, and Simple Messaging Service (SMS) remains highly underdeveloped in the United States.

For all the survey's optimism, however, a good number of the survey respondents apparently missed the crucial point that all mobile phone marketing is inherently permission-based. Indeed, a large number of respondents, in verbatim comments, dismissed mobile phone marketing as just another form of spam (only worse because the recipient pays for it).

That outlook suggests a huge misunderstanding. Unlike e-mail, mobile phone marketing requires consumers to "opt-in" and makes it easy for them to "opt-out." Also unlike most e-mail marketing, mobile phone marketing is content-driven, with the brand as the "enabler" for the consumer to receive content they wish to receive. If the content is sufficiently strong, the brand is welcomed, messages can be delivered and sales will result.

Perhaps in recognition of this very nature of mobile phone marketing, 63 percent of marketers surveyed rated its creative potential as "good," "very good" or "excellent." Considering that most of our respondents have not experienced any form of marketing across their mobile phone beyond SMS (if even that) this result is encouraging.

A number of respondents did mention the limitations of a "small screen," however many others noted that good creative can always overcome the constraints imposed by any medium.

Mobile phone marketing can forge an interactive, personal relationship with individual consumers - your brand in their pocket - with their permission.

In any case, telephony technology is changing rapidly, which should help to unleash the medium's creative possibilities. The advent of so-called 3G and 4G technologies will provide the equivalent of broadband speeds to mobile phone handsets within the next five years. Once that happens, everything broadcast can deliver now to your computer or TV could be delivered your phone. Moreover, we have seen technology for optical scanning that will enable promotions to be delivered directly to the phone and redeemable directly from the phone at the store.

For the time being, many of the best creative applications are being implemented overseas, particularly in the UK, where beer companies, for example, are using text messaging to generate "spontaneous" flash mobs. They sign consumers up for "hot night life" alerts. Then, each week, they text their subscribers as to where the hottest music/action will be on any given day.

They usually tie in drink specials, limited access music groups, and merchandise giveaways. Consumers get "inside access" (i.e., no cover charge) by giving a password at the door -- plus enjoy the fun of being in-the-know where the hot place is that week. Consumers either subscribe to this service, pay premium-text fees for it, or the cost is picked up by the sponsor.

In the United States, meanwhile, Coke had a text-based program running in the fall of 2003, which enabled consumers to enter an Under-The-Cap promotion instantly from their mobile phones. It was not promoted aggressively, however and the results have not been reported.

Because the medium is personal, completely portable and always on, the sky is the limit of what you can do. The keys to success are simple but not inconsequential:

		Base programs on content that is appealing to consumers. If it is, consumers will be willing to sign up and allow a brand to send messages.
		Aggressively market the sign-up program. Like any marketing program, it needs both reach and frequency. No matter how appealing the content is, if a consumer is unaware of the program, they will not sign up.
		Integrate the mobile marketing program directly into mainstream marketing plans. Put the invitation to sign up/short code right on the brand's packaging, its 55-million-circ FSI, POS, print ads, and website. Using TV advertising may not be the best way to communicate a mobile program since the message is a little more complex than can be easily absorbed in 30 seconds. Some companies have done it, however, so keep an open mind. Radio, with its focus and greater message length, is effective. Also, if a brand has an existing database, it can be an effective pool to tap initially, since the consumers have already expressed brand interest.
		Refresh programs continuously. Like all direct marketing programs, there are acquisition rates, retention rates and decay rates -- all of which will vary by brand and by category. In fact, even if you aren't sure how well mobile marketing fits into your plans currently, get your 'toes into the water' so you can start establishing these rates for your brands. As momentum builds behind mobile phone marketing, this proprietary data will become a competitive advantage.
		Always offer the consumer an "opt out" option. Our role, as marketers, is to deliver value to the consumer, first and foremost. This enables the brand to maintain the dialog, deliver the messages and receive the beneficial image/sales benefits.

Permission-based, mobile phone marketing clearly offers an opportunity to forge an interactive, personal relationship with individual consumers -- your brand in their pocket, with their permission. No other medium allows personal consumer interaction, unbounded by place or time to the same extent.

It is the marketers who are doing their homework now -- testing and developing norms, building databases, developing their "voice" to the consumer across their mobile phones, learning the best ways to translate message to sales -- who will be in the position to best take advantage of the potential of mobile phones as a medium for marketing.

Click here to view the survey's results.

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Wes Bray is Chief Executive Officer of HipCricket, which creates and implements permission-based, mobile phone marketing programs in local markets, worldwide.