Mobile Marketing

According to Wikipedia.com, mobile marketing is defined as marketing on or within a mobile device. It can also be described as the use of a mobile medium as a means of marketing communication. It is no secret that smart phones are the preferred choice of most people. In fact, according to Neilsen, a respectable marketing research firm, it was expected that 1 out of of every two Americans would have a smartphone by Christmas of 2010. It is also not a mystery that so many marketers are taking advantage of mobile marketing with this boom in the purchases of smartphones. Let's take a look at some of the more popular methods:

Mobile Marketing via SMS
Many companies today are collecting phone numbers of current and potential customers to send them their advertisements. Many of these ads are at times wanted, and at other times are unwanted. Even if the ad is not wanted the receiver would have had to opt into the service in order for the messages to be sent. This method can reach a wide audience, although it is not the most successful type of mobile marketing.

In-Game Mobile Marketing
Nearly all smartphones have the ability to download apps and often these apps are games. Known as mobile advergaming or ad-funded mobile gaming, these ad-rich gaming applications have promotions of endless amounts of brands and products. Products such as Mountain Dew can now be seen on the internet game, World of Warcraft.

Location Based Services
Cell phone networks like AT&T and Verizon offer LBS's on their smartphones which can give way to custom advertising on based upon that customer's geographic location. Coupons for being the most frequent customer at particular stores are offered, as well as point systems with milestones that allow the customer to gain free merchandise. LBS are fairly new but are quickly becoming one of the more popular ways to advertise to consumers through the use of mobile marketing.