ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising

Please click here to download Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising.

Welcome to the second edition of Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising.

A one-stop source for everything related to the workings of mobile advertising, this Classic Guide targets executives from brands, ad agencies, media planning and buying shops, publishers, mobile marketing firms, wireless carriers and other marketers interested in reaching out to busy consumers on the go.

While the nation is weathering this downturn, the mobile advertising and marketing sector has proved the one bright spot for marketing growth, albeit on a smaller base than most channels.

Fueling that positive trend is a reality: more consumers are taking their daily lives with them on the road, including talking, texting, exchanging email, accessing work documents, searching, shopping, checking weather, clicking pictures, watching video and television, playing games and consuming news and content. What fertile ground then for marketers to interact with mobile consumers.

This guide comprises 56 articles authored by some of the top executives in mobile advertising and marketing. The topics graduate from basic level to intermediate and then advanced, following Mobile Marketer's established pattern with its Classic Guide series.

While the mix may seem eclectic, the guide is chock-full with advice, best practice and how-to tips on everything, from a lay of the land and an Interactive Advertising Bureau primer on how to buy media on mobile to structuring and deploying mobile advertising campaigns and programs as well as their issues, analysis and measurement.

Must-read articles include viewpoints on mobile advertising and publishing from key executives at Microsoft Mobile Advertising, The New York Times, Forbes and The Associated Press.

Banner year
This guide will have succeeded in its mission if it convinces readers to begin a dialogue on mobile advertising or extends the commitment of those already in the field.

A lot is at stake here. Mass media are rapidly fragmenting, making the task of advertising to consumers more difficult. This is an issue not just for advertisers. Publishers also recognize that they need to be where the consumers are -- on mobile devices and on the wired Web.

However, as SmartReply president Eric Holmen points out in his article, "only the top 50 [publishers] account for 91 percent of all mobile advertising revenue."

What Mr. Holmen's observation implies is that smaller publishers are missing an opportunity to engage with their audiences on mobile and pretty much leaving money on the table for bigger competitors. Or maybe they are not putting up a better fight for mobile ad dollars.

Equally, advertisers will also benefit by offering mobile consumers an opportunity to view timely offers on the go, but they need the platform and trusted media brands to make their case.

So it is in the vital interest of advertisers, publishers, agencies, carriers and mobile marketing firms to get mobile advertising right and not just treat it like a stripped-down version of the wired Web.

Luckily for all, there are voices of reason working to get mobile right, if this Classic Guide is any indication. The key players in the mobile advertising and marketing ecosystem -- the ad networks, publishers, SMS firms, mobile marketing shops and ad agencies -- contributed heavily their time and effort to produce this work.

To all executives and their marketing communications specialists who helped make this edition a reality -- a big thank-you for your patience and hard work.

It is only through collaboration with all the key players in mobile advertising can a work like this become effective in its aims: to inform and educate marketers on the value of mobile advertising and perhaps entice those sitting on the sidelines to jump in -- now.

Many thanks also to Mobile Marketer's Giselle Tsirulnik and Dan Butcher for their reporting, Jordan Crook for her help with images and Jodie Solomon for convincing others to invest in this Classic Guide and others before it. Chris Harnick is new here, but he will participate in future efforts.

And then there's Rob DiGioia, art director on this effort. As many will notice, this is Mobile Marketer's largest Classic Guide to date -- 88 pages at 16 megabytes -- so try sending a link before emailing the entire PDF to friends, colleagues, prospects or clients.

Rob worked many hours on getting the pages and images right, no easy task with a finicky yours truly. Thank-you to him as well, although his mutter in the newsroom was within earshot: "It passed being a guide at 40 pages. You mean the Old Testament."

Please click here to download a copy of Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising.