Mobile coupons, though a concept that has been talked about for a long time, is finally starting to gain traction as big players like Google and Facebook ramp up their efforts.  As QR codes, mobile coupon redemption technologies and smartphones in general continue to evolve, mainstream mobile coupons are getting closer every day.  Through the proliferation of LBS startups like Yelp, Foursquare, MyTown and many others, mobile coupons could very easily be a central aspect to the consumer rewards and loyalty programs each are perfecting.

Regardless, the infographic below details everything you need to know about the current state of the mobile ad industry and the growing importance of mobile coupons in relation to consumer sentiment…

Go800, a subsidiary of GoIP Global, has developed an SMS marketing platform that uses the traditional keyword-to-short-code concept, but returns voice calls instead of SMS-based content and calls-to-action.  Through the launch of its Web app, users can now bypass the need for sending an SMS message, instead sending Voice Keyword prompts directly from the Go800 Web App to the Go800 Platform over carrier and WiFi networks.  In addition, the Go800 Web App displays the most used Voice Keywords by users for future calls.

The company’s other announcement today includes a partnership with Xtify to release versions of the Go800 app for distribution in the Apple App Store, Android Marketplace, and BlackBerry App World.  What’s interesting, is that these versions will include enhancements to deliver geo-triggered notifications and messages, allowing Go800 to deliver the most relevant information for advertisers to the right consumers at the right time.

The partnership will leverage Xtify’s “patent-pending technology to efficiently provide marketers and publishers with a unique platform for delivering geo-relevant messages to mobile users.”  The press release this morning didn’t include many details as to how these “geo-triggered notification and messages” will be implemented, so we’ll have to watch this one closely.

You can visit http://go800corp.com/app from your mobile browser to download the new Go800 Web app, or text APP to 46800 to have a download link sent directly to your device.

The interactive mobile contest offered the chance to win a $10,000 grand prize, and more than 82,000 text message entries were received during the two-and-a-half hour duration.  During the live broadcast, MuchMusic asked MMVA’s viewers a trivia question for a chance to win $10,000.  Viewers were prompted to send their trivia answer via text keyword to short-code 777888.  A random winner was selected from correct trivia answers and awarded the cash.  Nearly 10% of 1,000,000+ viewers participated in the mobile trivia contest, adding to the excitement of the highly popular event and driving audience interaction with the MuchMusic brand.

“The partnership with Adenyo for the 2010 MMVAs was extremely successful,” said Brad Schwartz, Senior-Vice President, General Manager, Much MTV Group, CTV Inc.  “The volume of responses shows how effective mobile initiatives are in reaching MuchMusic’s tech-savvy audience and creating additional excitement for viewers.”

Adenyo noted in its press release that the entire campaign was built within two weeks, when a “national, cross-carrier campaign of this magnitude normally requires a three-to-four-week turnaround.”

“We were thrilled to be able to provide MuchMusic with the messaging platform to power its MMVAs contest, showcasing the interactivity and dynamism of mobile marketing as an extension of the MuchMusic brand,” said Sean Erjavec, vice president, sales at Adenyo. “The volume of entries and the short development time gave Adenyo an opportunity to prove the scalability and robustness of our software and our capabilities as a service provider.”

The company recently announced the acquisition of another mobile media company called Butter, Inc., a startup specializing in unique mobile application ad solutions, which will help 4INFO provide access to a  ”full spectrum of mobile solutions with a single point of contact, delivering the highest per interaction value in mobile,” the company said yesterday in a press release.

Butter came on strong in its relatively short existence, and through a robust suite of mobile optimization tools, has placed itself front and center in the mobile media world with big-name clients such as Coca-Cola and Energizer on its roster.  ”This acquisition creates great value for brands seeking to reach consumers at every point of mobile contact,” said Timothy Price, CEO and co-founder of Butter. “Creating a comprehensive suite of mobile media solutions will increase return on investment for advertisers, and allow for cross-channel marketing campaigns that reach the greatest number of mobile consumers.”

4INFO is trying to expand beyond SMS and display ads to offer the advertisers it works with more options in terms of reach, and mobile apps were the next logical step.

Thet was interviewed by TechCrunch yesterday and explained the acquisition in greater detail, as well as his company’s plan to continue acquisitions to maintain its forward momentum.  Enjoy.

The fourth annual LG U.S. National Texting Championship will test each player’s texting speed, accuracy, and dexterity when the Final Four contestants  face off for three days in mid-September in New York City. The winner gets $100,000 after proving herself/himself in challenges like typing phrases on LG handsets exactly as they appear on LG plasma screens, while distracted by blind folds, the complexity of the phrases, and marathon game play.

To get to NYC, contestants must take part in LG’s various SMS campaigns. It’s a great opportunity for LG, and other companies involved with putting on the contest, to interact with consumers while adding to their database of opt-in contacts–fueling further interaction and relations between marketer and consumer.

The phone maker has already started running commercials on MTV enticing entrants to text game-play phrases to designated short codes. During certain weeks leading up to the Final Four challenge, Wild Card participants will receive a text with a short phrase and the first person to reply with the exact phrase (spelling and punctuation count) will qualify for the Online Finals. Wild Card Week dates and times are a surprise–so hopefuls must text “LG” to 28683 to sign up for game play alerts.

Sure, there are other aspects to the competition, like weekly tournaments on Facebook and challenges during stops on a concert tour called the Bamboozle Road Show. But the SMS campaign aspect really capitalizes on participants’ love of texting, and preference to communicate via that medium.

My only question? Whether questions of equality between contestants using traditional phone keypads and those using QWERTY (LG brags being a “leader in QWERTY devices”) will create Olympic skating-like controversy.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has launched a mobile giving campaign as part of its efforts to raise money to help save animals ravaged by the BP oil spill.  The new campaign, organized in part by the Mobile Giving Foundation, allows wireless subscribers to donate $10 to the NWF’s Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund, by texting WILDLIFE to 20222.

Mobile donations soared in popularity after the American Red Cross launched a text-to-give campaign that allowed cell phone users to make $10 donations by sending HAITI to 90999.  The campaign raised $32 million dollars within one month of its launch and threw mobile giving into the spotlight.

Others have launched SMS-donation campaigns as well.  Mad Mobile, a mobile marketing provider, recently launched its “Oil Spill Relief” campaign that allows users to donate $10 by texting ‘GULF’ to 50555.  Once an SMS is received, the consumer will receive a text message confirming their contribution of which 100% of the donation goes directly to the Waterkeeper Alliance and SaveOurGulf.org. The donation appears as a charge on the consumer’s mobile phone bill.

This imposes a large hindrance for mobile content providers, SMS providers and others in the mobile ecosystem that rely on the mobile Web – and open access to which – to conduct business, reach consumers and provide the content that mobile users demand.  Though the FCC has made moves to combat the issue of wireless carrier control and open access to the mobile Web, one group in particular is taking things into its own hands.

The Mobile Internet Content Coalition (MICC), which currently consists of mobile content providers 4INFO, Myxer and mobileStorm, formed recently to petition the FCC in favor of providing consumers “access to the content of their choosing without improper interference by wireless providers.”

The MICC has prepared a formal response to the FCC in relation to the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; “Preserving the Open Internet,” and “Broadband Industry Practices.”  The goal of the response is to promote ease for consumers to get the mobile content they want, and to protect their right to access that content on their mobile phones.  “It should be as easy for consumers to access the mobile Internet and other mobile content as it is for them to access the wired Internet,” the prepared document states.

“The underlying desire is for the Mobile Web to be treated simply as the web, with the same openness enjoyed by desktop computing,” explained Jeff Sass, VP Business Development and Chief Evangelist for MICC member company Myxer, Inc. in a recent interview.  “Ultimately the consumer should have the choice and control to access and consume any content they may desire from any source, without interference of any sort imposed by the Internet service provider, or software or hardware manufacturers.”

Unlike the wired Internet, a limited number of wireless carriers control the vast majority of the wireless market.  Four carriers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint-Nextel, and T-Mobile – control 90% of the U.S. wireless market, with Verizon and AT&T combined in control of 60% of the wireless market.  In conjunction with that consolidation, access to the Internet by a mobile phone is becoming increasingly common and mobile Internet usage has escalated as wireless networks have been upgraded and mobile phones have included data features.  For the year 2009, data traffic exceeded voice traffic and that will only increase in 2010 and beyond.

In addition, SMS is increasingly becoming another means for consumers to access the mobile Web and its subsequent content, thus SMS is a critical and growing aspect of the mobile Web which is largely hindered by wireless carrier control.  A shining example of which is the hurdles one must face to register a short code to begin distributing mobile content.  The MICC’s response to the FCC clearly spells out these validated concerns;

“This approval process can take up to 12 weeks time, which is significantly longer than it would take to register a domain name on the Internet.  Further, wireless carriers maintain the ability to refuse any campaign that fails some standard or guideline created by the wireless carrier.  Sometimes those guidelines are explained, but more often than not, a campaign is denied without a clear explanation of what exactly was objectionable.  Wireless carriers also maintain the authority to deny any campaign that may be competitively risky.  For example, Verizon refused to approve the short code campaign of a company, Rebtel, which would have allowed Verizon subscribers to make cheaper international calls than the subscriber could through Verizon.”

This type of control would never be acceptable over the wired Internet, where businesses are only limited by their imagination, and where an ecosystem exists that allows entrepreneurial innovation with very few barriers- only having to register a domain name for a nominal cost, for example.  This type of freedom of access from both an entrepreneurial and consumer-oriented perspective is what the MICC is trying to accomplish.

“Cleary the web is way more advanced in allowing a business to get going. You can buy a domain, build a website and be selling a product within an hour,” explained Jared Reitzin, founder and CEO of MICC member company mobileStorm, Inc in an interview for Mobile Marketing Watch.  “Granted the web has been around longer than short codes, but at some point the carriers need to catch up and automate as much of the short code provisioning process as possible.  Not to mention we need the costs of short codes to come down.  I can own a URL for $9 a month; a random short code costs me $500.  The barriers to entry are still too high for small business, and these are the companies that generate most of American’s revenue.  I know there are a limited number of 5 and 6 digit short codes, but there are a limited number of IP addresses as well, so we are now introducing IP6.  It’s time for some changes that break down the barriers and put more control in the hands of small businesses, and the MMA to set the rules, guidelines and best practices accordingly.”

The issue remains an uphill battle, however, and exists beyond the barriers of carrier control.  “I don’t know if this is something that can be, or will be overcome but we cannot ignore Apple,” continued Reitzin.  “They are only going to become more powerful and gain more market share.  Their NFC patents that were approved recently only go to show you how far down the mobile road they’re thinking.  They are a very large walled garden and if they stay that way, you are going to have a smaller mobile internet.  Google on the other hand is trying to balance that out.  Very interested to see how everything plays out.”

Whether or not the FCC responds to the formal reply by the MICC, and what the potential outcome may include is yet to be seen, but the gears are already in motion to induce change in the industry.  “We have two issues; the first is making sure the right people read our message, and the second is making sure those people are well informed and educated with what we are introducing,” explained Reitzin when asked how the MICC’s response could potentially be received by the FCC.  “That being said, I think if we could get in a room together to discuss the topics in person, our message would be better understood and well received.”

When asked the same question, Mr. Sass of Myxer responded “We believe that the current FCC is understanding of these issues and the importance of open Internet principles across all iterations of the Web so that there continues to be a healthy environment for access, innovation and consumer choice.”

Download the full response PDF that was sent to the FCC by the MICC member companies here.

EcoFiles, a new startup focusing on the unique concept of “Text to Email” mobile marketing and fulfillment, allows consumers to text for information and receive it in their email inbox in seconds.

Launched by Bull’s Eye Innovation (BEI) last year, the tool is enabling pharmaceutical brands to deliver timely information without the costs of printing.  So far, it has been used as a healthcare fulfillment solution within pharmaceutical speaker programs and conferences, with trade and consumer advertising on the horizon.

It’s not quite clear what EcoFiles has planned in terms of consumer oriented mobile marketing within the healthcare field, but the company said that within speaker bureau or guest lecture programs, BEI has seen a mobile response rate of 15%, and within conferences, the mobile response rate jumps to 37%.

“EcoFiles is enabling companies to achieve a high response rate because the content is much more robust than a standard text-to-text application which is limited to 160 characters.  Our pharmaceutical clients are able to send pdfs and audio/video files that physicians are finding very useful,” says BEI president, Wanda Toro.  ”In addition, the brands are saving thousands of dollars on materials they no longer need to print.”

“We are hearing from consumers about unpleasant surprises on their bills,” said Joel Gurin, chief of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, in a public notice. “We’ve gotten hundreds of complaints about bill shock.  But this is an avoidable problem.  Avoiding bill shock is good for consumers and ultimately good business for wireless carriers as well.”  The FCC said its inquiry is one of the first initiatives undertaken by its consumer task force, launched in January by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and chaired by Joel Gurin.

The proposed mandate wouldn’t necessarily impose a substantial impact on carriers, as most already have methods for users to check their limits, but forcing them to send SMS messages on their own accord would likely face opposition from most carriers.

Some are already under the opinion that this would represent unnecessary regulation, though some carriers may embrace it as a service, perhaps with a price tag that may be favorable for budget-savvy consumers.  ”I think consumers would love it,” said Kirk Parsons, a wireless analyst for J.D. Power and Associates.  ”It just happened to me, and it would have been nice if I was alerted that I was going over.”

The proposal comes after The European Commission mandated overage alerts last year and more recently imposed limits on how much carriers can charge for Internet access via mobile phones.  Though our wireless ecosystem differs greatly from that of Europe, the same principals can be applied.

Still, some argue that the problem has been blown out of proportion, noting that the percentage of complaints against total wireless subscribers is extremely small.  ”Even though the ‘hundreds of complaints’ that the public notice references is less than four ten-thousandths of a percentage of the industry’s total subscribers, the industry strives to serve and provide all of our 285 million customers with the necessary tools to have a positive experience,” said Steve Largent, CEO and president of CTIA.

What does this mean exactly?  OpenMarket is what’s called a “transaction hub,” that provides the underlying technology to deliver MMS to a broad range of wireless carriers and subsequent end-users.  By becoming an approved MMS aggregator for third-party digital content delivered via the major U.S. carriers, it makes things a lot simpler for mobile marketers and content providers to distribute messages in broad form.

“MMS is one of the most effective ways for companies to communicate their brand message and connect emotionally with the consumer at the same time,” said James Citron, chief executive officer of Mogreet, a mobile marketing platform that enables businesses to send rich media via MMS. “In our business, great delivery is everything.  We look to OpenMarket as that experienced mobile solution partner for broad subscriber access and superior network stability.”

With SMS already a standout solution for mobile marketing and advertising, MMS is increasingly becoming a favored solution as well given the fact that it enables marketers to send short videos, photos, images, song clips, animated video and other similar rich media to users.

“MMS usage by consumers is growing every month as new applications and consumer services are launched into the market,” said Jay Emmet, general manager of OpenMarket. “OpenMarket provides agencies, brands, social networks and third-party merchants with the ability to deliver advanced mobile content and a personalized user experience.”