NEW YORK ? Marketers can deliver contextual and relevant messages through location and behavorially targeted mobile advertising, according to a panel at the Mobile Marketing Forum.

When approaching mobile advertising, companies need to know who their consumers are. According to Millennial Media, it is about understanding how to reach consumers with relevant advertising that is delivered to them in an anonymous way.

?There is an elegance in mobile advertising that we can leverage,? said Marcus Startzel, senior vice president at Millennial Media, Baltimore, MD. ?Mobile advertising is the collision of the virtual and physical worlds.

?There are advertisers who are trying to achieve a business result and consumers are the purchasing power ? and that allows to ecosystem to survive,? he said. ?At the end of the day, advertisers and consumers are the two most important constituents that we have to protect.?

Know your customer
There are anonymous targeting segments that businesses should focus on, including a consumer?s basic device or carrier, their profile contexts, selected metadata ? including the sex, age, nationality and ZIP code, as well as audience memberships.

Location-based ads are growing in popularity and are a way to deliver relevant advertising to a consumer, wherever they are.

?An example is a horror movie lover who has identified themselves as a horror movie fan and has voted for a horror movie,? Mr. Startzel said. ?Now that user gets an immediate and impactful ad [about that subject].

?Mobile advertising has elegance and people who used to be exposed to billboards, online or direct mail, are now coming into a different direction with apps like Layer and Foursquare,? he said. ?People are now merging what is both physical and virtual and using the device that lets them do that.?

Mobile targeting
Additionally, mobile and real-life targeting, advertising and engagement are another best practice for companies.

According to Alan Rambam, founder and chief strategic officer at MobileBehavior, New York, it is important to advise brands on where and when to insert mobile into their marketing mix.

The company believes that the future will require agencies to consolidate global advertising and engagement across all mobile platforms.

?For us, we basically have a software engine that we use globally and it is responsible for knowing what consumers will engage with and on what device ? and that?s our process on buying mobile advertising, it?s a persona-based system, centered deeply at consumer and mobile behavior and different trends and insights,? Mr. Rambam said.

?The best paths and tactics for reaching, targeting and engaging mobile consumers are to achieve brand objectives,? he said. ?This is how we?re managing mobile advertising across the globe.?

It is also important to have a wide assortment of technology vendors and regularly partner with emerging products and services to deliver effective mobile advertising and real-life engagement.

?We?re starting with awareness and moving to engagement,? Mr. Rambam said. ?How does your brand interact in the mobile environment?

?It?s about merging advertising with engagement,? he said.

User measurability
Measuring the success of mobile advertising is also key.

Companies can run ads via mobile devices, but they must also measure to see how effective the advertisement was.

Joy Liuzzo, senior director of marketing and mobile research at Insight Express, New York, said that she includes online results so that there is a base to measure mobile campaigns, which is the same as measuring those online.

?I?m not saying mobile advertising is better than online advertising because each has their own objectives,? Ms. Liuzzo said. ?Mobile is holding its own because of the advancements.

When creating a mobile Web page, businesses should focus on the speed of loading, whether it is easy to navigate and the quality and relevancy of the content.

The copy featured in ads should be short and the number of words should range from 5-16, depending on the units.

Additionally, the ads should connect with the consumer and entice them with a need by making things relevant on a personal level.

Companies should look at the logo size and placement and make sure that it takes up at least a third of the total ad unit and be placed on the left hand side.

Advertisements should feature images and a cool hue background color.

?You can see that mobile Internet is the work horse ? it shows the highest increase, but SMS is also holding its own,? Ms. Liuzzo said. ?Smartphone users are showing that they have positive engagement with mobile activities.?