What can mobile do for your brand?

For years, mobile was the underachiever of digital advertising, tipped for great things but never delivering its true potential. Many brands regarded advertising on mobile phones as an afterthought, while the campaigns that did run on mobiles were uninspiring, using basic SMS text messaging to reach customers.

However, the iPhone and Google's open-source operating system Android have been "game changers" for the industry, according to Shaun Gregory, managing director of media business at iPhone service provider O2 - and the mobile advertising market has caught fire.

Both services offer fast and easy internet access on the move, and have been developed for mobile phone rather than PC users. The fashionable iPhone, for example, provides access to thousands of applications that advertisers can use to reach consumers, from virtual pints to a driving game for the new Volkswagen Polo. Last month, Apple's app store notched up its one billionth download for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

"Serious money is flowing into mobile advertising. Mobile has come of age," says Russell Buckley, global chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association and vice-president of global alliances at agency AdMob, whose clients include Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and MTV Europe. He says: "Thanks to the sophisticated advertising formats made possible by the mobile internet, it is a completely different medium and is developing a new identity."

Edward Kershaw, vice-president of mobile media at Nielsen Online, agrees. "Adoption and usage are snowballing. Consumers are already open to mobile advertising, albeit with reservations. But, when they do experience mobile advertising, their ad recall is significant and the response rate high - particularly when you target specific usage."

In the UK, the mobile advertising market is still small but growing fast. In 2008, the market was worth about £28.6m, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. And Nick Lane, chief researcher at consultancy d2Mobile, estimates the market will expand by about 20%- 25% over the next year, driven by WAP sites and SMS and Bluetooth campaigns alongside iPhone applications..........