CNN, one of the world?s leading cable news television networks, has rolled out a new initiative geared to highlight how mobile is changing the way consumers live around the world.

Called Our Mobile Society, the editorial feature was born in CNN Mobile and migrated to other CNN channels such as online, radio and TV. In the span of weeks, the feature has generated millions of page views on mobile and online and advertising support from Honda and Verizon Wireless.

?This is the kind of big idea that can help us to serve our customers even better, and also make material contributions to CNN overall in multiple important ways,? said Louis Gump, vice president of CNN Mobile, Atlanta.

Our Mobile Society was Mr. Gump?s brainchild. In this Q&A, he talks about what CNN is trying to accomplish with this effort, evolving consumer attitudes toward mobile and advertiser response to the changed marketing landscape. Please read on.

Our Mobile Society is CNN's effort to point out what ? are we becoming more mobile or are we already there?
Both. Mobile is the catalyst for one of the biggest changes in consumer behavior in our lifetimes, and we're seeing it right in front of our eyes.

We experience it in areas including how we interact with others, what information we access and when, how we manage our finances and even where we choose to eat. And it's global.

Our Mobile Society taps into the worldwide capabilities of CNN to help to tell this story.

Interestingly, this editorial initiative sprung from CNN Mobile and then was co-opted across all channels, right?
Yes. We believe that deploying existing content from other platforms, including TV and desktop Web, is only the beginning.

We also think there are many ways to tap into mobile to serve our customers, generate new revenue, and strengthen the CNN brand. Really, mobile is the closest we can get to our customers.

This initiative started as three ideas and evolved into a mash-up of all of them. 

One was to tap into the unique capabilities of CNN to tell the story in a way that no one else could.

The second was to grow CNN's reach on mobile platforms while being additive for our other platforms, and the third was to generate incremental revenue.

It's been incredible to see this initiative unfold. This is the kind of big idea that can help us to serve our customers even better, and also make material contributions to CNN overall in multiple important ways.

What has Our Mobile Society unearthed that we already didn't know?
The topics of interest have been varied and collectively cohesive. Part of it is discovering new things, and part of it is using CNN's reach to tell stories known in small groups to very large audiences.

Which platforms are you running this effort across?
We're running it on at least five platforms across a range of CNN properties. The platforms include phone, tablet, desktop, TV and radio.

The properties include CNN Mobile, CNN.com, CNN/US, CNN International, CNNMoney.com, CNN en Espanol, HLN, CNN Radio, CNN Airport Network and Zite.

What sort of traffic numbers and traction data can you share?
Since launch, we've seen significant traffic and video starts for Our Mobile Society on CNN?s mobile and online platforms. 

On CNN?s mobile platforms, Our Mobile Society content has surpassed nine million page views, and online, has reached 19 million page views.

On Facebook, Our Mobile Society stories have garnered 40,000 recommends.

The iReport assignment ?One-day mobile photo challenge? has received more than 1,700 submissions, the most submissions for any assignment during the month of September and the most uploads from a mobile phone in a single day this year.

IReport also launched an Open Story for the assignment, which shows iReporters and CNN journalists reporting on the topic.

All data are for the first three weeks of Our Mobile Society through Sept. 30.

What about the advertising component? Who were the charter advertisers?
Ads are included across platforms, with particular emphasis on the digital platforms this year. Honda and Verizon Wireless are the presenting sponsors.

We?ve been able to start with a topic that?s relevant to everyone, and then create a package that helps us to provide a valuable opportunity to advertisers also.

Will Our Mobile Society become a recurring feature?
Our Mobile Society has far exceeded our ambitious goals in multiple areas, and we've learned a great deal as well. 

We're already in planning stages for a major initiative in 2013 that will build on this foundation. Editorial, marketing and advertising will all be significant components.

In fact, due in large part to the success this year, we're already in discussions with advertisers about sponsorships for next year.

What effect has mobile had on the way we live, work and play?
It's had a pervasive effect. Because of the scope of effects and also the global relevance, we have a wide range of ways to look at the answers to this question.

So how will this new mobile lifestyle affect consumption and monetization of media and content?
I think that people will consume more content while on the go, and media companies will think more about the balance between cross-platform engagement and individual platform excellence.

Mobile is the closest that media companies, agencies and brands can get to their customers.

Among other things, more ad deals will be closed that run across multiple platforms and include mobile.

Mobile has the ability to extend existing advertiser relationships and establish new ones for media and content providers.

What about advertisers ? have they cottoned on to this new mobile world?
At CNN, many of our advertisers have gravitated to mobile. Related revenue is increasing, and we?re actively adapting to accelerate the growth.

For example, we?re seeing increased interest from the marketplace in mobile buy-outs across phone and tablet platforms, often in conjunction with a desktop or TV buy.

Across the industry, mobile will approach 7 to 10 percent of some brands' budgets, and mobile campaigns will evolve in size and sophistication.

There's a lot of chatter these days about the gap between the percentage of mobile usage and that of total related ad spend in the marketplace.

At the same time, progressive advertisers are generating a disproportionate return from many of their mobile investments.

This is a great time for forward-looking companies to invest more. Growth is clear. However, I think this won't be distributed evenly.

The most progressive companies with inventory and the most forward-looking advertisers will derive a large portion of the benefit. This is true both for established cross-platform media sellers and also newer mobile-only ones.

At the end of the day, those who start with the customer to drive simultaneous mobile excellence and cross-platform cohesiveness will gain the most.

Some popular story examples on CNN's Our Mobile Society are below:
? A day without a cell phone
? Seven ways mobile phones have changed lives in Africa
? How smartphones make us superhuman
? CNN Explains: Cell phones and radiation
? Cell phone culture: How cultural differences affect mobile use
? Till death of cell phone contract do us part
? Have smartphones killed boredom?