7-Eleven is using the presidential election as a way to build hype around a new Slurpee flavor that ultimately builds the company’s SMS database and drives in-store traffic.

Mobile devices are inherently local tools.  People use their smartphones for all sorts of things that they might also do on a wired computer at home or at work.  However, we are seeing data that enforces the intuitive idea that people use their smartphones when they are “out and about”, “on the go” interacting with the world around them.

Over the last 15 years, this “online/ offline” “bricks and clicks” “web meets world” nirvana for marketers has been more myth than reality.  But, good things often take time and this one is coming around.   The intersection of local and mobile will be one of the real “sweet spots” in digital marketing over the next 5 years.

Local relevance and timing are key when converting mobile browsers to buyers, though specific consumer needs and verticals influence the way mobile devices are used for purchases. A new study investigates not only mobile consumer behavior, but preferences as well.

It’s important to understand how mobile users engage with your brand.  It’s even important to think of how their engagement may differ from a mobile phone to a mobile tablet device.

Here are four tips from the study:

You probably don't need convincing that a company mobile strategy is necessary.  However, many companies are reluctant to start until the number of devices, market and approaches settle down.  The unfortunate part is I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.  There are ways to maximize your investment by selecting the players with the largest market share (iOS and Andriod).  Mobile plays an important role of providing people with information personally, immediately as well as in a location specific way.

We help our clients bring their national strategy into a local context.  It’s great when we hear from clients that want to start a local marketing program.  It’s a new channel that’s not easily understood unless you’re like us and you do this as your job.  We see several opportunities for new clients that want to start a local marketing program.

When speaking to a group of online marketers and business owners, I realized that not all companies have engaged or even thought about having a mobile advertisement strategy. This urged me to deep-dive into the main reasons why this occurs and what is holding them back. Below are some important misconceptions and questions:

Competition is very steep at tradeshows; you will need to make it a priority to capture and keep the attention of the attendees. But how can this be done assuming that the attendees already have plans on which booths will complement their interest? The answer is “Go Mobile”.

Mobile technology continues to outburst usability in marketing, even in tradeshows. Think about, for example, the impact that QR (quick response) codes have to the adoption of smartphones. QR codes let attendees communicate with the presenters and booths while leaving an impressive first impression.

Tablets are quickly replacing laptops and televisions – they’re lighter and easier to pack, making them more attractive for people on-the-go.

The top four ways consumers use tablets are:

   * Organizing recreational activities
   * Online shopping
   * Reading news or blogs
   * Social networking

What if you could add your customers to a text message program where they receive instant offers from their favorite local location.  What if the local location could send out an offer when they had overstocked inventory, perishable items, great weather locally, just beat a local rival in a sport, etc.  You can do all of this.

We can setup a centralized collection process where all your ads, local POP, etc. can direct customers to your website or Facebook page to enter their phone number and ZIP code to start receiving local instant offers via text messaging.  This can be combined with our email-marketing program so the customer has one place to control their communications profile.

QR codes are not new but our job is to come up with new and exciting ways to use current technology to help our clients increase sales or decrease expense.  Our latest idea is the creation of a QR code that is then placed on a piece of equipment.  The equipment needs to be larger enough to place a QR code on it somewhere but the readers today can scan something pretty small.  Imagine someone is beside your piece of equipment and they have a question.  They can just scan the QR code on their mobile phone and access:

Women are into techy devices these days; they purchase on it not only for fashion purposes but to communicate easily with their family and friends. They embrace smartphones according to the study of Mobile Marketer's Outlook 2012. It has also been mentioned in a blog released currently from The Wall Street Journal that females and older mobile users were underserved by mobile advertising globally. Women serve as a viable market and they make the majority of purchasing decisions which make them a great target mobile market.

The consumers this year would be much alike from last year. The speedy networks will encourage people to acquire web-centric smartphone devices. According to IBM Benchmark, the sales from smartphones and tables accounted for 11% of total online sales which raised 5.5% in December 2011.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter will be patronized by the users. Other new social networks that are gaining popularity will also be invaded

See the data that an analyst says are driving four key trends in the mobile sector. We highlight age-specific statistics on mobile social networking, smartphone usage, SMS adoption, and offer tips on what those numbers mean for your 2010 mobile marketing plans.

A question that we constantly hear from mobile vendors comes down to the almighty dollar. How can I help you to convince your client to move more money into the mobile space. The key issue we find is the lack of consistency.  That issue is resolving itself just as it has in other new technologies.  A customers mobile phone is with them all the time and a key part of the content consumption on a daily basis.

Tapping ideas that have made online advertising work could help mobile marketing move forward even more quickly. Consider the following three areas: