Mobile Advertising Future

If you follow the mobile industry you may have stumbled across the feature ‘Location Based Services’ or LBS.  LBS uses your geographical position to create services or entertainment via your mobile device.  LBS has been around for a while, however networks and devices have never truly been able to support its full potential.

I have always felt that the true potential of mobile advertising is endless.  With more and more consumers moving toward smartphones and tablets there is really no medium that has the potential of mobile.  (No better illustration of this than Nielsen’s Media Universe from earlier this year.)

Mobile Advertising has been gaining momentum for the past few years, but more often than not there is a lack of strategy to these tactics.  I read article after article of big brands experimenting with mobile advertising / marketing with direction.  Marketers are seeing the potential, but most are struggling to find a way to be relevant yet not intrusive to consumers on their phone.

This weekend’s Wall Street Journal article “Mobile-Ad Market Still Faces Hurdles” gives thoughts to Mobile Advertising’s relevance.  The article states that opt-in location based services is the future of mobile advertising.  I could not agree more.  Pretty soon our phones will eliminate the need for credit cards, reward cards, coupons, etc.  By opt-ing into offers consumers can engage with brands on their own terms without invasion.  Brands will also be able to pin-point their exact targets and produce measurable results.

With platforms like Facebook Places and Foursquare we are seeing brands engage with some geo-targeting tactics.  But few have given thought as to how this integrates into their overall marketing strategy.

What is your mobile strategy?  Does it fit with your current marketing?  Are you considering how to take advantage of the features these new devices offer?