Permission and trust are the essential criteria of successful marketing campaigns conducted through the medium of mobile text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages, and non compliant campaigns endanger the commercial future of the medium.

This is the key finding from Inside The Message, a study of creative marketing agencies by mobile messaging services provider, Dynmark International. In-depth discussions with figureheads from agencies including Ogilvy, Gyro HSR and Essence Media, revealed candid views on existing mobile marketing practices, their strengths and their weaknesses. 
The agencies canvassed had no direct allegiance to specific technologies, says Dynmark, which allowed them to offer candid views on how much budget they allocated to mobile, how effective campaigns work today, where the potential is and what the pitfalls are.

“Despite its superior reach, commercial messaging is vying with other forms of mobile media like never before,” notes Dynmark CEO, Oscar Jenkins. “Messaging is no longer the only mobile marketing option, and the industry has to be extremely careful about how it is performed, otherwise consumers could be turned off for good.

The report points out that mobile messaging remains a sensitive and inflammatory form of marketing, riven with advertising small print requirements and regulatory codes of practice, the breach of which can lead to serious penalties. But based n the findings of the report, Dynmark believes considerable untapped potential remains.

“You can do more with MMS and SMS messages now,” Jenkins said.   “As a mobile call to action, a link to download an application or access online content, they are unbeatable.

You can download the report for free here.