LOS ANGELES - Jamie Foxx, Academy award-winning actor and Grammy Award-winning singer, opened the Mobile Marketing Association?s Mobile Marketing Forum, discussing the opportunities of mobile within the entertainment industry and for brands in general.

Mr. Foxx said that he plans to use mobile to reach fans with his content.

?My daughter?s best friend?s mother has brain cancer and I would send her text messages every few days to cheer her up,? Mr. Foxx said. ?Now imagine I am sitting with George Clooney or another friend from Hollywood.

?We can do a short video, or send a message of encouragement to a whole list of people that are suffering with cancer,? he said.

The mobile opportunity
Mobile is really an opportunity for brands and as the devices become smarter, the possibilities are endless.

With 19 percent of all mobile phones shipped in the second quarter of this year being smartphones, the opportunity for marketers is unparalleled.

Smartphones made up 19 percent of all handsets shipped in the second quarter, a 12 percent increase over the first quarter, and a 50 percent jump compared to the same quarter in 2009, according to ABI Research.

Mr. Foxx said that there are sponsorship opportunities within SMS messages he described seding to cancer patients. Brands can advertise within.

SMS to communicate with loyalists
SMS is a great vehicle for reaching consumers.

Messaging remains a highly legitimate medium to communicate with a mass audience.

Other forms of mobile marketing certainly have their place, but in catering to the lowest common denominator, SMS is best.

MMS and SMS are becoming the technologies of choice for retailers and major brands that are seeking effective ways to connect with their consumers on mobile in a timely, relevant, personalized and unobtrusive way.

By leveraging MMS and SMS, brands can reach nearly 95 percent of mobile phone subscribers on both smartphones and non-smartphones alike.

Messaging is expected to grow from $47.8 million in 2010 to $2.04 billion in 2015 in the United States, according to a MobileSquared report issued by SinglePoint.

The channel capitalizes on the opted-in database developed by a brand to establish an ongoing relationship with the consumer.

SMS has reach
Approximately 72 percent of American adult consumers send and receive text messages, according to Pew Internet Project. Virtually everyone is text messaging, making it a convenient way for retailers and brands to communicate with consumers.

The immediacy of SMS makes it an ideal channel for brands and retailers to communicate with their consumers. 

SinglePoint found that 90 percent of text messages are read within three minutes of delivery, and that the recipient eventually reads more than 99 percent of all text messages.

?Brands can rely on mobile to reach out and connect and I am going to use it to make sure I am reaching my fans,? Mr. Foxx said.