According to Laura Marriott, the president of the Mobile Marketing Association, “mobile is not about to happen, it is happening.”

Gee, tell me something I didn’t know.

In her outlook for 2008 - and the years ahead - Ms. Marriott recently provided a set of key tips to first-time mobile marketers angling to capitalize on this burgeoning advertising juggernaut.

The lessons:

–Keep it simple

Rather than create complex applications which require the consumer to learn new technologies or new ways to access information, keep it simple. Use the tried and true, the mobile technologies with ubiquitous coverage - text, mobile web - and keep the consumer interaction and engagement short. And most importantly, deliver value!

–Relevance

We have heard this before but by relevance, let’s speak broadly and also include ensuring non-intrusive, engaging and interactive communications that provide value (a benefit or a reward) to ensure the consumer’s continued interaction and engagement.

–Exploit mobile behavior

Remember when consumers are accessing your services, they want value and they want it now (facilitate spontaneity). By using the mobile channels that are driving volume, you can reach the mobile consumer whenever and wherever they are.

–Focus on the mobile key messages and demographics

1. Mobile users are cash rich and time poor.

2. Lots of youth users

3. Integrate into cross media campaigns including print, television, out of home, etc.

4. Provide a mechanism to buy or gain more information (value exchange).

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In one of the more baffling news items I’ve encountered in quite some time, it seems that legendary Hollywood talent firm the William Morris Agency, along with Peter Adderton, founder of both Boost Mobile and Amp’d Mobile, and a team of “digital media experts” have partnered to launch Agency 3.0, a designated mobile one-stop-shop designed to “serve clients in the new world of mobility, convergence and digital entertainment.”

What does that mean? I have no clue. And judging from the vague press release that accompanied the formal announcement, I’m not so sure the folks at William Morris know for sure either. But no matter the scope of this intriguing mobile endeavor, it certainly has people talking, especially in new circles previously unfamiliar with the mobile marketing channel.

“There’s a whole new world in the marketing, distribution and monetization of digital media, with unique demands for new approaches to both design and implementation,” said Jim Wiatt, chairman/CEO of WMA. “Peter and the team we have assembled at Agency 3.0 are the best there are in recognizing trends and creating digital businesses ahead of the curve. We recently announced a digital media venture fund and now with Agency 3.0, we’ll be providing services as well as making investments in this sector.”

As it stands, Agency 3.0 will work alongside WMA’s Consulting and Digital Groups to cherry pick projects that may benefit from the groups’ shared knowledge and relationships. Ownership of Agency 3.0 is shared among WMA, Adderton and the other principals on the senior executive team.

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Borders and Barnes & Noble are planning to launch new digital strategies for the month of June as they both aim for the top spot as America’s biggest online bookseller.

According to a report on CNN this morning detailing the June mobile marketing blitz, these strategies from two of the world’s largest book retailers come at a time “when questions abound about what the future of book­selling will look like.”

As of April, online retailers controlled 30% of the consumer book mar­ket while shopping inside of the physical bookstores remained “stagnant.” With little change in sight for the prospects of increased in-store purchases, Barnes and Noble and Borders will be pushing aggressive mobile marketing campaigns not only to sell more online merchandise but to target a new segment of readers that download electronic books (or e-books) instead of purchasing hard copies.

“Mobile is an emerging channel and an effective way to reach customers,” said Tom Burke, EVP of e-commerce at Barnes & Noble. “Our customers are busy and time challenged and many of our customers have smartphones. We’ve updated our site to make it easier on-the-go.”

To help promote the new functionality of their respective websites and online shopping bargains, both book retailers will be reaching out to their customer bases through e-mail and text advertisements. For Borders and Barnes and Noble, mobile marketing is slated as a key advertising mechanism for summer 2008, a development that, if successful, could serve as a shining example to other big box retailers.

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Mobile streaming media provider Buzzwire announced on Friday their new syndication deal with RooftopComedy, and interactive comedy content provider that facilitates one-click mobile access to original digital programming and viral videos.

Buzzwire struck the deal with excellent timing as the new mobile service launches in conjunction with the Aspen RooftopComedy Festival that takes place this weekend. The event will begin with selected two-minute mobile video clips from many of today’s best undiscovered comedians.

Buzzwire’s new service will also feature stand-up clips from comedy clubs across the United States and Great Britain. This feature will allow subscribers to create their own personalized mobile media channels and share favorite clips with other mobile phone users, particularly family and friends.

Starting this weekend, anyone can gain access to RooftopComedy clips through Buzzwire online at http://app.buzzwire.com. And - but for only a limited time, Buzzwire will offer a free trial to those who text “rooftop” to 42107.

According to their website, Buzzwire is a mobile streaming media service that turns any mobile phone into a “me” phone. Whether you want your favorite Internet videos, home town sports scores, “anywhere in the world” news, or even the Las Vegas police scanner, Buzzwire can stream it to your phone.

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Amobee is a company that’s developed what they call a “unified, telco-grade system for funding mobile content and communications through advertising revenues.”  It’s a platform that can be used to insert ads into any type of mobile content, across any mobile platform, and any mobile device.  Their ad-serving infrastructure can insert advertising into things like videos, music, messaging, games, WAP, and more while being compatible with any network and type of phone the consumer might be using.

They incorporate sophisticated targeting capabilities to allow advertisers to segment audiences far more deeply and accurately than ever before, to deliver highly targeted campaigns. The system provides advanced reporting on all campaign metrics as well to provide a well-rounded ad-serving solution.  Their mission statement says it all…

“…Mobile users will engage with an ad-model if they are given a choice and if they understand what they will get in exchange for their engagement. We believe in providing a user-centric, permission-based model and ensuring that consumers are always in control and that they get value in return for ads . The advertising should be presented in a relevant, contextual, targeted, personalized user friendly manner…”

By allowing content networks and developers to ad-fund their projects, it opens up their market to a much broader audience while increasing revenue at the same time.  While there’s several mobile ad-serving platforms available, there’s not many that provide a multi-network, multi-device operational platform like Amobee.

Amobee thinks it’s got what the future of mobile advertising will need, and they might be right, but turning down a $200 million dollar offer from Yahoo means they’re pretty confident in their rapid growth.  We’ll see what the future holds for them…

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Mobile advertising is no different than traditional advertising in regards to the need for brand awareness and loyalty in addition to product and service sales.  One method is to use branded “advergames” to get your message across and to help consumers associate your brand with something unique and fun.

I wasn’t particularly familiar with the subject, so I did a quick Google search and found several mobile advertising agencies already developing Flash-Lite advergames that can promote a brand in a variety of ways.  Companies like Punch Kick Interactive and Omega Mobile are developing solutions that meld mobile entertainment and games with any client’s brand.

Since they’re usually provided free-of-charge, advergames can be a great way to reach out to your potential audience while giving them something that’s fun to use, free, and worth their time.  Every time they open and play the game, they’re re-introduced to your brand, so the more unique the game, the more brand awareness you receive.

A great example is Jeep’s attempt at branded mobile entertainment dubbed “Jeep Off Road Jam” which lets players drive a Wrangler down trails and rough terrain.  As they progress up levels, their Jeeps are upgraded to the Sport, Sahara, and finally, the top of the line Rubicon model.  It’s similar to Suzuki’s Motocross Challenge which lets players drive bikes based exactly on the actual available Suzuki models.  Both games seem to be big hits, and do a great job embedding a product line into the players minds.

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The blog over at CellItMarketing had an interesting post the other day about the staggering amounts of text messages sent and received recently, and how they compare to only a year ago.

Verisign’s Networks alone sent more than 43 billion text messages in the first three months of the year, representing an average of 476 million messages per day.  Although not really surprising given the mobile marketing boom over the last few years, this represented a 150% increase over the same quarter in 2007.  They also reported that they sent 538 million messages on Valentines day alone, and that’s just one network!

AT&T announced that during American Idol, they generated 78 million text messages over the season, completely shattering last year’s tally of 64.5 million.  Verizon Wireless, not to be left out, also announced a record of 58 million messages sent during the first quarter of 2008.   This probably won’t surprise many people, especially those who’ve predicted and taken advantage of this rapid growth from the beginning.

The number of SMS/MMS-based startups in recent years shows the increased need for services that utilize this rapidly growing communication platform.  Everything from selling real estate to emergency response has been effected and enhanced by utilizing SMS.

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