The use of mobile phones has now reached unprecedented numbers - by the end of 2006, roughly 2.3 billion people across the globe had a mobile phone, twice the number of those using the Internet. The mobile channel has made it possible to reach these on-the-go consumers - anytime and anywhere. Capitalizing on this opportunity requires a solid understanding of mobile marketing basics, from devices and networks to consumer best practices and ad standards.

Reach
Delivery of SMS messages to mobile phones is almost guaranteed, which, for example, is not the case with email.

Mobility
Delivery Customers will receive the messages on their mobile devices anytime and anywhere.

Affordability
The cost of sending SMS messages is very comparable to that of email broadcasting rates: on average you will pay around 15 cents to send each message. Prices drop as volumes increase.

Effectiveness
The average SMS response rate is 15%, versus 3.5% for traditional promotional methods such as direct mail.

Personalization
Text messages or personalized content is targeted to individuals who have opted to receive them.

Cross-medium form of marketing
The mobile channel is highly complementary to press, radio and TV advertising.

Viral communication
The mobile technology encourages viral marketing with the built-in tools for forwarding of the messages to the existing social networks.