In other words, is the emperor wearing clothes? We’ve seen this in the world of technology many times in the past few years, most recently with the release of the iPad (and buzz about the upcoming “iAd” mobile advertising platform). And we had a flurry of client calls in the weeks after the release of the iPad, most asking how they can get in on advertising in the “new mobile market.” As an agency, the most important thing we must consider with regards to placing media is ROI for the client. Although the numbers (and the hype) for mobile advertising have been all over the media, hype doesn’t necessarily mean ROI. The media calls mobile the “golden interactive loop,” but just how “golden” is it?

We saw it coming with the release of the iPad—Apple taking “dead aim at Google’s search advertising” with its iAd mobile advertising platform (MediaPost.com). The good news for agencies like ours is that it brings another competitor to the marketplace, expands the reach of our geotargeted, hyper-local mobile advertising. Yes, it has taken some time for publishers to get on the mobile advertising bandwagon, particularly with the dramatic increase in and technological improvements to mobile devices (such as the iPhone, Android, and other “smart” phones) over the past few years. Our agency has worked with some of the “early adapters” for some time now—Pandora, Yelp, and Google Mobile, among others—and with moderate success for our clients. They work wonderfully for national clients, but many in-app mobile platforms still lack geo-targeting capability and strong reporting functions.

We don’t see mobile digital advertising as a replacement for traditional online display ads (did we actually just use the word “traditional” to describe online advertising?!?), but it certainly is another option to offer for campaigns with specific demographic targets. For example, if we have a campaign that has a primary goal of reaching 18-34 year-old males with a precise number of impressions in mind, and a secondary goal of a high click-through and conversion rate (say, signing up on a web site), mobile advertising is something we would consider including in that proposal—from Pandora music to text ads—as long as the target demographic is right for the campaign. Ideally, what we’d like to see is more geo-targeting capabilities on these platforms, along with transparent reporting functions.

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers conference in early June, Steve Jobs announced that the company has signed mobile ad campaigns for several large brands, including AT&T, Best Buy and Chanel, among others. TechCrunch also reports that in just eight weeks, Apple has garnered more than $60 million in iAd commitments for 2010 – or half of all mobile advertising spend forecasted for the second half of the year (according to Apple). The iAd platform will allow users to interact with ads from within an app – without disrupting their primary mode of engagement, whether that be playing a game or watching a video. The platform debuts on July 1.

Read more about Apple’s iAd mobile platform here and, as always, contact us directly if you have a product or service you’re ready to take to the (digital) streets!