What better analyst than a privacy expert like Alan Chapell to review the challenges facing advertisers who want to reach people on their mobile phones? I’ve been puzzled by what’s holding them back, but Chapell does a great job of clarifying the issues. The carriers (Cingular, Verizon, etc.) face legal constraints on using data collected for non-marketing purposes.
So Chapell says, and I agree, that the marketers that break through into this space will do so by coming up with great opt-in offers. Check out Virgin Mobile’s new Sugar Mama program. They also have a text-message novella called Ghost Town.

iMedia Connection: Reach the Mobile Consumer, 2006-Aug-18, by Alan Chapell

Of course, many different marketing techniques — from email to behavioral targeting to CRM — have promised advertisers that elusive one-to-one relationship with their customers. Why should mobile fare any better? First, mobile marketers are showing a real willingness to focus on "doing the right thing." By emphasizing user opt-in, being aware of legal requirements (such as CPNI), and learning from past examples of where things went wrong, mobile may have a better shot at success. And second, armed with the right data, mobile marketers seem ready to make ads relevant to individual consumers.