Here is another great article on the transition taking place within the marketing and advertising world. By the 2010 holiday season, marketing campaigns will need to embrace all channels – mobile being the newest and most popular kid on the block.

Why mobile is a must this holiday season

By Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Marketer, September 8, 2010

The huge potential of mobile will be realized this holiday season as brands go all in ramping up their multichannel marketing strategy during this crucial, challenging time of year.

Mobile calls to action featuring an SMS keyword and short code or mobile bar code can make holiday-themed traditional media actionable and measurable. Savvy retailers can get the word out about holiday sales via SMS, the mobile Web and branded applications, while brands can use various forms of mobile advertising to achieve their holiday-specific goals.

“I suspect when we all look back—and we will—to try to understand when mobile moved from interesting to nice-to-have to the heart of an all-channel brand program, it will be Christmas 2010 we all nod knowingly and nostalgically about,” said Thom Kennon, New York-based vice president of strategy at Wunderman, part of WPP’s Young & Rubicam Brands.

“There’s simply a whole lot of consumer spending going on [during the holidays] and mobile is the hero touchpoint to reach and activate consumers at almost every moment of behavioral truth across their shopping, purchase and fulfillment journeys,” he said.

“[Consumers’] mobile phone is with them at every single moment from Halloween through to the January sales—get into their pocket and purse!”

Mr. Kennon offered up a piece of planning advice: Hanukkah is early this year, Dec. 1-9, so marketers should use that as a mini-crescendo point bridging their Black Friday and Christmas mobile-centric holiday brand activation plans.

Breaking through the holiday clutter
During the holidays, consumers are bombarded with holiday-themed advertising of all kinds.

So how can a brand secure that real-estate ahead of and instead of its key competitors or other consumer alternatives?

The answer will range across a mix of consumer behaviors to trigger—everything from opting into SMS alerts, downloading a coupon application, opening a Bluetooth connection, sharing links with friends, and—here is where advertising is a no brainer—incorporating mobile, local and hyper-targeted keyword search into everything a marketer does this holiday season.

“Mobile media is a great channel to break-through the clutter,” said Maria Mandel, vice president of marketing and media innovation at AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions, New York. “It is unique because you can target your exact audience by demographic, contextual, behavioral and even location-based targeting.

“Location-based targeting is unique to mobile and can be a powerful link to point-of-sale purchase during the holiday season,” she said. “The holiday season is hectic for marketers and consumers alike—not only is it cluttered and competitive, but it is also a time when it is difficult to reach and connect with consumers.

“Mobile advertising and marketing can be used to effectively reach target consumers with the right offer at the right time and place.” Store or product locators, discounts, shopping/wish lists, gift suggestions, product information or tips can be great mobile tactics to leverage. Or even simply adding a mobile call to action makes radio, print, outdoor and in-store media work harder and makes it more trackable. Mobile alerts, offers and coupons can be a powerful way to reach last-minute shoppers. Read the full article here.

To learn more about the iZigg mobile media platform for this holiday season, text “iZigg” to 90210!