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Mobile devices are ubiquitous. They are always with us, in our pocket, everywhere that we go. In fact, most people will not leave home without their wallet, keys, and cell phone!

Given the fact that most people have their phone with them during 99% of waking hours, it makes for a great mode of communication. When our cell phones make noise, we tend to pay attention. Whether it’s a phone call, instant message, calendar notification, or an SMS message, when we hear our mobile devices chirping we have to look and see what it is. This is one of the most beautiful advantages that a mobile marketer has over an Internet advertiser, the ability to instantly grab someone’s attention. From an instant offer perspective SMS is so much more powerful than email, because it can be pushed to the device at the exact moment when the advertiser would like to make an announcement. Sure, some people can receive email if they are using a smartphone, but that’s only 15% of the mobile population in the U.S(A). Wouldn’t you rather leverage SMS to get the attention of 90% of the population(B)?

I know that I’m stating the obvious, but it’s true. Traditional advertisers, including Internet and email folks, must begin developing a mobile strategy before they’re left in the dust. People don’t walk around with their computers or laptops in their hands, and traditional internet ads may not be so obvious when viewed through a mobile browser. “Banner Blindness” is becoming more of problem as digital ads designed for full web pages are simply not visible on the mobile device, or often difficult to locate. Internet Advertisers need to recalibrate online web pages and display ads so they are visible on mobile browsers. This is also true for mobile applications. Rich Smartphone applications are a great medium for mobile display ads as well.

Lastly, as companies begin to offer rich applications on mobile devices for, leveraging GPS capabilities and location-based offers will greatly enhance the experience for the consumer. This creates a much stronger business case on the mobile device vs. the Internet, as only the device can tell physical location.

Internet advertising is far from demise, but anyone in the digital marketing space must begin incorporating mobile into their existing strategy. The opportunity cost of doing nothing is just too great.

Sources:
(A)http://cmgpartners.com/blog/?tag=smartphone-penetration
(B)Nielsen 2007