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Change is the one constant in the digital world, and possibilities created by advances in mobile technology have never been greater. While SMS has increased in popularity with consumers and brands alike, the advent of camera phones and picture-messaging capability has added to creative opportunities.

In the past few years, SMS technology has brought great advances in mobile marketing and, most importantly, has been accepted by consumers. This has given marketers a direct, often self-liquidating, promotional channel.

SMS campaigns have been used successfully by brands from Cadbury to Coca-Cola, but the simplicity of the medium is also a drawback. The 160-character limit of a text message may serve to ensure that a marketing message is focused and to the point, but the combination of text and pictures offered by MMS (multimedia service) opens up a more creative line of approach, allowing up to 35,000 characters a message.

More than a quarter of UK mobile owners have a camera phone, the number having more than doubled in the past nine months, according to mobile marketing specialist Enpocket. And following the launch of 3 and its 3G network in the UK last year, the other major mobile network operators are finalising their own 3G plans. In addition, Bluetooth technology, which allows wireless communication between devices such as phones, PCs and headsets, is becoming widely available on handsets and offers another avenue for marketers.

Image conscious

Picture messaging looks likely to have a major impact. As consumers are becoming accustomed to using it, so marketers and brands will employ it as they have done SMS. Jeremy Wright, co-founder of Enpocket, which works with companies including William Hill and Orange, says: 'MMS provides a tremendous palette to work with - the equivalent of a short story. Mobile is a medium in which marketers can develop rich creative. They can do things that are not only interesting, but make the brand resonate and be compelling. I am not sure the penny has dropped with everyone yet, but you can effectively deliver a slug of communication from your brand to a mobile phone.'

There is an obvious hurdle. Before sending an MMS, a brand must know whether its audience can receive it. But this has not stopped the mobile phone networks - all big brands in their own right - as well as games and handset manufacturers seizing on the marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) possibilities.

In Finland, a territory that has traditionally explored the possibilities and limits of mobile technology before the UK, Club Nokia has run several CRM initiatives using picture messaging. An MMS targeting young women, for instance, offered a free summer subscription to girl's magazine Gloria via an MMS that displayed content.

In the UK, Orange is using MMS to communicate with consumers (see case study), while O2 used a wholesale MMS system to encourage TV audiences to interact with BBC One Saturday night show Johnny & Denise: Passport to Paradise. The show featured an e-photo segment, during which viewers were asked to send in MMS photos on a particular theme. As many as 8000 messages were sent in for each episode, according to the programme's producer, Celador International. 'Camera phones are becoming mainstream in the UK,' says Laurence Alexander, O2's director of products, 'and MMS enhances the existing interactive experience.'

Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association, adds: 'These results are a great step forward for the industry, as it proves that consumers are willing to adopt a new way to interact with brands and that the system can withstand the volume of messages submitted.'

M-ticketing, which delivers sales promotions and offers to mobile phones, is another major fillip for mobile marketers. The service has become reality on a major scale this year.

Orange Wednesdays saw the mobile operator commit to a three-year scheme offering customers free cinema tickets via vouchers sent to their mobiles.

Mobile specialist Flytxt and technology company Active Media oversaw the installation of more than 2000 mobile voucher terminals in UK cinemas.

Ramesh Kumar, managing director of Active Media Technology UK, says: 'M-coupons are a powerful method of boosting loyalty while obtaining customer data. It is great news that consumers seem to be more receptive to receiving incentives on their mobiles.'

So far, the possibilities offered by 3G devices have been exploited to a lesser degree than MMS. 3 was launched in March 2003 and by December of that year had 210,000 users. But as the other UK mobile operators enter the 3G market, take-up of these services is expected to rise. Enpocket's Wright describes 3G as 'the broadband of mobile', and adds: 'There is a great opportunity for video content to be sent to people's phones. It is compelling.'

Mobile video

3 has teamed up with record label BMG to bring music video to 3G handsets.

Dido, Britney Spears and Outkast are among the first artists to be featured on a mobile video jukebox, which offers customers access to music videos four to six weeks in advance of the actual single launch at a cost of £1.50 a song.

Wright says that while '3 has shown how successful streaming content can be, the relationship between content and marketing should be continually revisited. Bringing a brand to such a personal medium is like TV with the remote already in the users' hands'.

It is not just keeping consumers' attention that is a potential problem.

Tim Carrigan, chairman of mobile technology specialist TXT4, which works with AOL and Mazda, explains: 'While MMS and 3G potentially allow stronger branding and greater impact from messaging, the most important factor is still the consumer. Mobile spam is a serious issue - mobiles are our most personal communication devices, so there is a strong sense of violation when unwanted messages are received. Brands that use these technologies to send unsolicited messages will turn consumers off.

Carrigan is convinced that no matter what mobile developments emerge, certain principles underpin the marketer's use of the channel. 'Mobile is far more effective as an inbound channel, allowing consumers to initiate a dialogue with brands,' he says. 'Once the consumer has engaged the advertiser, there's a huge opportunity to use these technologies, such as sending a map of a consumer's nearest store or a virtual tour of a holiday destination straight to the handset. This is a far more powerful use of the technology and will be welcomed by consumers because they requested it in the first place. We're working with more than 30 brands that would agree that mobile is better used for listening than for shouting.'

Wright has a clear idea about which brands should be using mobile marketing. 'If you see the value in having a direct relationship with consumers,' he says, 'go for it.'

MOBILE - THE POSSIBILITIES

Mobile coupons

Active Media Technology, which is involved in the Orange Wednesdays initiative, reported that 58% of people would be happy to receive coupons on their mobiles.

Bluetooth

'Bluejacking' describes the practice of sending messages via Bluetooth technology to enabled phones. Earlier this year, in Asia, The Economist sent messages to business professionals, with the help of OgilvyOne Worldwide and Red Card.

3G

The UK's first 3G network, Hutchison-owned 3, launched in March 2003. By December of that year, it had attracted more than 210,000 UK customers. Globally it had secured 660,000 customers.

CASE STUDY - ORANGE

Orange wanted to encourage its users to take pictures on their mobile phones and send them to their friends, so it set up an initiative called Snapshot, asking participants to take a photo based on a theme, such as 'the best part of your day'.

An online Snapshot gallery (www.orange.co.uk/snapshot), promoted by Orange's email newsletter Divert, which goes to 30,000 people, showcases the best photos and allows users to register for email updates. As pictures can be forwarded to friends, the site capitalises on a viral marketing angle. The promotion is open to anyone with an MMS-enabled phone on any major UK network.

Specialist mobile marketing agency Enpocket handles Snapshot's mobile delivery, with inbound photo messages served in real-time to the website.

A precursor to Snapshot, last year Orange's Expressionist campaign encouraged people to send in pictures of facial expressions. Orange received more than 5000 images. After an online vote, prizes were awarded to the best.

Alex Snape, e-marketing manager at Orange, says Expressionist was about getting the public to send their first photo message.

- Philip Smith is the editor of Revolution.