Brands are more serious when it comes to their back-to-school mobile advertising campaign budgets, signaling increased presence and innovation this year.

According to Microsoft, advertisers are showing great interest in behavioral and custom database targeting. The company also said that its mobile advertising inventory increased dramatically from last year?s back-to-school period.

?Brands are getting serious about how they approach mobile,? said Erin Wilson, specialist sales executive at Microsoft Mobile Advertising, New York. ?We are no longer in a test phase and budgets are getting even more serious.

?If this is back-to-school, I can?t wait to see Holiday 2010,? she said.

Richer experiences
Smart marketers are reaching out to kids and moms for back to school.

These are two very different audiences and they use the mobile Web and applications in different yet distinct and easily targetable ways.

IAd will undoubtedly have a significant effect on mobile advertising for back-to-school marketing. Expect more mobile video, rich-media and content-integrated advertising within applications.

On the mobile Web, HTML5-enabled advertising should start to take off right as the back-to-school season kicks off.

IPad in-application advertising will also be big for the back-to-school period.    

Money, money, money  
The bottom line is that advertisers woke up this year to the power of mobile advertising.

With the battle between Google and Apple in the news almost every day, big brands know to take mobile seriously, per Paran Johar, chief marketing officer of Jumptap, New York.

?It's no surprise that mobile has taken off this year,? Mr. Johar said. ?Not only have the types of advertisers expanded, but the amount per campaign has increased dramatically.

?Nowhere is this truer than with back to school,? he said. 

Research shows that a lot of children are getting their first mobile phones by ages 8 or 9. This behavioral shift is hyper intensified by teens who have grown up with their mobile device attached to their hip.

While texting was originally what they started with, more teens now have full-feature smartphones with complete mobile Internet access and are surfing the Web while on the go. This represents a new channel to connect and engage with this audience for a slew of advertisers for back to school.

The main platforms that mobile advertisers are using to target back-to-school shoppers are iPhone, iPad, Android, RIM and Windows.

?Marketers are realizing that connecting with users means several things,? Mr. Johar said. ?Besides the obvious action of clicking through the ad and engaging with content, building a mobile CRM database to connect with users over time is high on marketer?s lists.

?They are also seeing the potential of engaging users in new ways via rich media, video and branded apps,? he said. ?If this your first mobile campaigns you better get moving.

?The days of the $25,000 test are quickly ending and clients are investing significant budgets already.?

Recommendations
Elena Perez, director of marketing at Medialets, New York said that back-to-school advertisers need to keep in mind that many of the traditional marketing channels that they use ? print, Web and television ? now have mobile properties.       

For example, newspapers and magazines where back-to-school marketers already spend ad dollars now have iPhone, iPad and Android applications.

In addition, it is now possible to easily adapt a back-to-school broadcast campaign to mobile thanks to the ability to incorporate video in mobile campaigns.

?For big brands, mobile isn?t just an emerging opportunity anymore; it?s a chance to reach consumers everywhere they go,? Ms. Perez said. ?Many of the rich campaigns we create and execute at Medialets incorporate video, and the ability to measure how much and how frequently the video is viewed adds even more value.

?We also see mobile commerce taking greater hold as brands and retailers look to drive mobile purchases with a simple click or swipe within an ad or app,? she said.
 
Ms. Perez said marketers need to remember that mobile advertising is a cross-platform medium.

Android users represent a significant segment of mobile subscribers and will continue to grow.

Additionally, as more iPad and Android devices end up in consumer?s hands every day, mobile ads and applications are no longer designed for a 320x480 screen exclusively. This gives marketers more flexibility in developing creative. 
 
Marketers must consider the many different devices being used by consumers today and design ads and campaigns that take into account the many ways a user interacts with their handset.

The best mobile campaigns do not simply repurpose online, broadcast or print creatives; they also incorporate mobile native capabilities to drive a unique mobile experience. This will go a long way towards creating brand loyalty and driving purchase intent.  

?But probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that, though mobile advertising may be new territory, it does not have to be complicated,? Ms. Perez said. ?Marketers can buy mobile rich-media campaigns by cost-per-thousand, on the same publishers and through the same agencies they already work with.

?For digital marketers in particular, the process will feel very familiar,? she said. ?The high performance rates may be a nice surprise.?

Mobile video ads
Mobile video ad network Rhythm NewMedia is starting to see brands create integrated campaigns reaching both the moms and youth market. 

The three main themes the network is seeing are:
a) On the spot impact
b) Interactive video
c) IPad  

?Our clients are planning farther in advance to achieve ?on the spot impact? for back to school and holiday efforts,? said Michael Hirshoren, vice president of sales at Rhythm NewMedia, New York.

?Consumers are continually taking their devices shopping or searching for engagement content,? he said. ?It?s a perfect opportunity to market a back-to-school product.?

Brands are getting excited, as there is large cross-marketing appeal between mobile, social and video. 

For example, for added engagement, some brands are adding ?click to Facebook? or ?tap to Twitter? messages on every ad unit, video or display. 

Everyone is investing in iPad as it kicks the door open for mobile. It is starting to achieve scale as publishers launch new iPad applications weekly.

Brands have been testing mobile video advertising for some time, but consumer adoption was low and creative capabilities were limited. 

Advertisers can now run a larger scale campaign on a clear, larger color screen at WiFi speeds with an integrated video message. 

The medium has grown up and allows a crisp experience across many devices.

?Our focus continues to be smartphones and advertisers are becoming more excited by these marketing opportunities,? Mr. Hirshoren said.

The newest of the smartphones allow for new rich-media ad units that provide engagement with the video. This includes video overlays and animation for both pre-roll and click-to-video units. 

Rhythm is seeing a lot around the iPad for back-to-school. The company said it will be launching 8 ? 10 large iPad sponsorships through 2010. 

Advertisers are drawn to innovation and using video on these devices. 

?We also allow a full screen App Launch Roadblock,? Mr. Hirshoren said. ?This allows retailers to roadblock applications during key shopping dates like back to school or Black Friday.?

Final take
Mobile Marketer?s Giselle Tsirulnik on what to expect from mobile advertisers? back-to-school campaigns this year: