That vote of confidence for mobile from one of the leading interactive marketing agencies nationwide must mean a lot. A specialist in Internet marketing, R/GA has been involved with mobile since 2001.

The agency, whose most recent work was an eye-catching iPhone application for the Nike Training Club (see story), is putting its money behind its mouth by naming a senior executive to help build its mobile business.

"This year we're definitely seeing brands invest in the medium as a strategic initiative as opposed to the experimental investments that were made in the medium a few years ago," said Richard Ting, vice president and executive creative director of R/GA Mobile & Emerging Platforms, New York.

One of the better-known mobile evangelists, Mr. Ting recently brought Dave Edwards onto his team as group director of mobile at the agency. Both will work toward growing the mobile practice based on a number of trends they are seeing.

Key among all indicators is a convergence of factors starting to drive mobile, including better handsets, faster wireless carrier network speeds, cheaper data plans and vastly improved content for mobile Web and on-deck consumption.

These factors undoubtedly drive awareness of mobile data services among mainstream consumers.

Given its Internet marketing legacy, R/GA Mobile will continue to drive mobile efforts that are deeply integrated with wired Web campaigns.

"Brands need to focus on creating owned environments in the mobile medium, not just campaign-support microsites," Mr. Ting said. "During these recessionary times, brand marketers also want more accountability in their marketing spend.

"Mobile is a highly measurable medium and as brand marketers are being asked to prove ROI effectiveness, strong case studies are now being developed which show how mobile is outperforming online as well as other traditional mediums," he said.

Mystique disappearing
R/GA has highlighted three areas of interest in the mobile space.

First, mobile browser technology has advanced sufficiently to support fairly rich experiences on the handset.

Next, the native application world is growing stronger by the day with the iPhone application environment leading the way. New phones such as the Palm Pre and the BlackBerry and Android Marketplace stores will also encourage the creation and launch of more mobile applications.

Finally, GPS technology and mobile social networks are paving the way for more creative executions of mobile efforts.

"The mystique around the medium is slowly dissipating," Mr. Ting said. "Brands, agencies and consumers are starting to see the unlimited possibilities.

"My prediction is that most brands will have a mobile presence by the end of 2009 and those that do not will have to play catch up in 2010," he said.

R/GA was among the early pioneers, at least among the larger agencies, that created memorable mobile marketing campaigns.

In 2004, the agency created one of the first SMS scavenger hunts in New York for Nike. Called Operation 6453, the effort sought to promote the release of a limited-edition athletic Nike shoe.

The following year R/GA developed the NIKEiD application on the 23-story Reuters billboard in New York's Times Square. Consumers could customize their shoes directly on the sign using their mobile phones.

Taking that knowledge of outdoor media, R/GA in 2006 developed a network of Bluetooth-enabled billboards in London for Nokia. The objective was to Bluecast Nokia-branded city guides to users' mobile phones.

Most recently, the agency created Nokia Map and ViNe, a mobile application that uses GPS technology to map out user journeys. The application captures a series of photos, videos, songs, texts, bookmarks and voice messages that the user can share with friends and family.

An opportunity for brands
R/GA considers itself one of the early agencies pushing for innovation and experimentation. With the mobile ecosystem's growth, plenty of brands now get the idea of mobile and the role it plays in multichannel marketing.

"These are the same brands that understood during the early years of the Web that it was not a dumping ground for repurposed TV commercials," Mr. Ting said. "Each medium has unique qualities and strengths and, when leveraged correctly, can amplify brand messages and experiences.

"Those who capitalize on mobile's unique ability to interact with consumers in a specific time and location will have the most success, which is an area that we're heavily invested in with our clients," he said.

"There are still brands that are late adopters and are beginning to dabble in the space with small budgets that yield small initiatives and returns. It's essential that they integrate the medium into their holistic marketing efforts."

As with the Internet in its early years, mobile offers untapped potential for brands to build and deepen their relationship with consumers on what is possibly the most personal communications channel.

Mobile also gives legs to channels including the wired Internet, television, coupons, print and radio.

Meanwhile, Mr. Edwards' promotion within the mobile practice is meant to help R/GA identify business opportunities for new and existing clients, as well as niches for the agency to enter.

One of Mr. Edwards' mandates is to showcase how mobile works not only as a direct marketing medium but also for branding purposes. Recent R/GA work for Nike is illustrative of this approach.

For example, the Nike Training Club iPhone application targeted women seeking a fun workout experience that they can take with them on the go. The application has more than 70 customized workout videos and includes a social component to let users challenge friends to join.

Such a mobile value-added service can not only attract new consumers, but also creates a deeper affinity with existing clientele, per R/GA.

"There are many industry pundits who claim that mobile is better served as a direct marketing channel, given its ability to generate and track customer responses to advertising, promotions and retail offers," Mr. Edwards said.

"We do not deny the fact that mobile can be extremely effective as a direct marketing channel," he said. "However, we also strongly feel that when utilized appropriately, mobile can be leveraged as a branding medium and can create significant lifts in brand affinity and brand recall."