NEW YORK - While mobile is not as complicated as commonly assumed, it does require special skill sets and understanding of the wireless carrier environment and the permission process.

Panelists at Mobile Marketer and the DMA's Mobile Marketing for Agencies and Media Buyers event just happen to have such a skill set and the shared their knowledge with the audience.

"It's really a different campaign for each client so it is important that you sit down with the brand and figure out their objective," said Shira Simmonds, president of Ping Mobile.

Ms. Simmonds also said she believes mobile should be added to other advertising channels to make them more effective and trackable.

Every client not only has its own goals but its own challenges as well.

Ping Mobile ran a campaign for Days Inn. Some of the hotel's chains have restaurants and others don't. Therefore, coupons to Days Inn's database of names would not work.

"You have to figure out your client's challenges if you can craft the proper campaign for them," Ms. Simmonds said.

Michael Foschetti, managing director of interactive and mobile at Mobisix said that mobile can solve a brand's marketing challenges.

For Papa John's, mobile is all about transactions.

The pizza chain uses mobile to let its customers place orders from their handsets.

"WAP is huge for Papa John's," said Jim McDonnell, marketing manager for emerging channels at Papa John's. "We look at mobile as a direct response medium."

The company has never done advertising just for the sake of branding.

The panelists talked about location and how it should affect a campaign's creation.

"How important is location," asked Mr. Foschetti. "And, when will carriers let us use this?"

Jordan Berman, vice president of media innovation at AT&T Ad Solutions made it clear that carriers are more concerned with a consumer's privacy than giving information to marketers.

"Our No. 1 priority is the consumer and protecting the consumer," Mr. Berman said. "There probably isn't a brand out there that wants to be considered intrusive."

Mr. Foschetti has seen a lot of progress and potential for geo-targeting.

"Forget cell tower triangulation," he said. "Activating a window sticker lets you know exactly where the person is standing."

Mr. McDonnell from Papa John's admitted that the pizza chain's tracking is not nearly what he'd like it to be.

In fact he said a lot of it is anecdotal.

Papa John's targets by time of day and its point of sale system is unified, so that's a plus.

"We can track clicks to banners and inbound SMS," Mr. McDonnell said. "If anyone actually used pizza coupons, they would work."

Ms. Simmonds said that it is important to work with companies that are in the mobile space because they are there to help.

Ping Mobile runs about 50 campaigns a week for its clients.

"Mobile companies have a strong process in place when they create mobile campaigns," Ms. Simmonds said.

One of the challenges to mobile messaging is the fact that there is a limit of 160 characters per SMS.

"Really think about what you want to say," Ms. Simmonds said. "Choose your words wisely.

"What does your consumer really want," she asked.

A double opt-in for a messaging campaign is necessary to add consumers to a database for future marketing.

Basically the consumers are giving their permission to be communicated to by the brand in the future.

Ms. Simmonds' client Domino's ran a mobile sweepstakes to build a database of names. Later, the pizza chain used the database to send offers to those opted-in consumers.

"Also, it is important to think about where you place a call-to-action," Ms. Simmonds said. "Putting it at the end of a commercial does not guarantee that the consumer will get his or her phone out on time to get the short code down.

"The call-to-action should always be there," she said.

According to Mr. Foschetti, no two clients are ever the same.

He breaks types of clients into two categories.

The first is the active and sophisticated client with a robust database and the next is clients that have spent almost or no time in mobile.

"When diving into mobile, leave time for compliance and figuring out how to manage a campaign," Mr. Foschetti said.

According to Mr. Berman, the bathroom is the No. 1 place where consumers consume mobile.

Consumers don't necessarily have a lot of time to spend with you on their phone. So whatever is being offered, it shouldn't be too much information to consume in just one mobile snacking period.

Mr. Foschetti told a funny story.

"I travel a lot and was feeling guilty so I signed up for text tips for being a better husband," he said. "I got an ad in the tips that asked me to click to call and talk to live girls."

In response to Mr. Foschetti's story, one of the audience members said, "The next ad should have been for a good divorce lawyer."

The point is it is important that the message be relevant.

Ms. Simmonds suggested using Twitter to run some ideas past your audience.

According to Mr. Berman, mobile is the answer to brand's marketing challenges.

"Want to engage with your consumer?" he asked. "Then you can't beat mobile."