Mobile technologies have developed exceedingly rapidly in recent years. Along with this ongoing innovation and implementation, the potential for mobile marketing is also expanding. Mobile campaigns are being enhanced thanks, in particular, to the growing interaction and number of alternatives.

Below is a list of the currently available mobile technologies. It is a question of time before the appropriate mobile phones are widely available to permit the use on a large scale.

Bluetooth and infrared
An increasing amount is being written about Bluetooth as a mobile marketing tool (also known as BlueCasting). Despite a number of successful uses of Bluetooth, particularly in the United Kingdom, very little is known about the conversion figures. Experiments are being conducted, for example, by drawing the attention of pedestrians in a shopping street to the potential of receiving messages via Bluetooth.

Infrared is an alternative to Bluetooth. There is a drawback in that a mobile phone needs to be held no more than one metre from the relevant object in order to retrieve content from it. It is necessary to install hardware on-site for both Bluetooth and infrared applications.

Mobile ticketing and vouchers
HotSMS makes it possible to send tickets or discount vouchers to mobile phones. Consumers can leave their mobile telephone number on a website or they may be invited through some other media to send an SMS message. A mobile ticket is then automatically sent to the phone concerned. Your mobile phone is then scanned at the start of a conference, when you are attending a concert or in a shop. This enables you to gain admission or receive a discount. At the same time the system knows that the ticket has been used and personalised information may be provided by SMS. If users are uncomfortable about receiving a mobile ticket on its own, it is also possible to receive the same ticket by e-mail, to print it out and to have it scanned.

Java applications
Faster data connections to mobile phones (GPRS, UMTS and HSDPA) make it possible to install software applications, as in the case of a PC, which can contact the Internet (for mobile use or otherwise) to upload or download data. Many of these software applications are written in Java. For example, in connection with a major sporting event, it may be possible to download a competition application that retrieves updated information every five minutes (or in real time). Alternatively, you can play games on your mobile device, following which you can upload your high score to a central database.

Mobile video
Mobile video is beginning to gain in popularity as a successor to animated wallpaper (a moving image) on mobile phones. This is closely related to the number of new generation (3G) phones that have been introduced into the market. Videos are still too resource-consuming to transmit directly to a phone. In this case an SMS message is sent containing a link through which a video can be downloaded.

Naturally, mobile direct mail campaigns are enhanced when the message is not confined to 160 characters (SMS) but is communicated as an animated image coupled with sound.

Mobile TV
Several mobile phone manufacturers have now introduced the first phones into the market that support mobile television. It was already possible to use UMTS to download television images, such as the NOS news. However, this was not live footage that could also be viewed on a normal television set at the same time. Mobile TV is thus not the same as streaming video featuring television fragments. Although Mobile TV is already possible, in practice it is not yet used for marketing campaigns, major or otherwise.

Instant messaging (IM)
KPN Hi was the first operator in the Netherlands to introduce instant messaging via mobile phone. There are now a number of alternatives allowing one to chat on the phone using IM. As it happens, the recipient of a chat message cannot see whether chatting is occurring on a PC, handheld computer or mobile device. As soon as appliances are equipped with IM in conjunction with fast mobile broadband connections, the use of person-to-person communication will expand rapidly.

Mobile e-mail
Apart from SMS and instant messaging, this is the third form of person-to-person communication that will become very popular, once the number of mobile devices and fast broadband connections increases. At present mobile e-mail is mainly used for business purposes in the form of a PDA, such as a Blackberry. Ultimately, it represents a good alternative to reach consumers directly independent of time and place.