However, there are five key, hard-edged points to resolve if the potential of this medium is to be realised. These are: function, format, fragmentation in the market, feedback and fearsomely expensive data charges.

What is mobile advertising actually for? What is its function? Its value may lie in the power of the mobile as a magnet for attention and a purveyor of emotion. In other words, as a driver for brand awareness and association, like TV and print advertising.

But interactive advertising for brand development is still in its infancy.Thus, the format will need to be explored and developed. Creative types will need to invent a whole new vernacular suitable for the two-inch screen.

The industry is starting to experiment with SMS ad-tags, derided half a decade ago and now commanding breath-taking CPMs. The birth of a new medium offers very exciting opportunities for the creative imagination.

The fragmentation of this market is going to be a big problem though. Currently, there are no big media properties in this space, yet audience scale is crucial to attracting the really big money in advertising.

If the big cohesive audiences don’t exist in mobile we will have to synthesise them.  Operators have a role to play here, as did the ISP portals at the dawn of the internet, but ultimately they lack the intensity of commitment needed to create really successful media mastheads. It will fall to others to synthesise and consolidate the audiences, with the support and blessing of the operators.

Moreover, feedback and evaluation have become crucial in all advertising campaigns, so consistent ways to measure and evaluate the success of mobile advertising campaigns are essential.

These are all factors crucial to success, but the final and perhaps most important obstacle to overcome is fearsomely expensive data. With the current system of data tariffs, mobile advertising is unfeasible, as it is not ethical to make consumers pay for the delivery of advertising.

Operators attempt to address the widespread problem of high data charges by offering flat-rate data tariffs. However, optional flat-rate data bundles mean that advertisements must only be sent to those who have signed up to such packages – woe betide the advertiser who drops megabytes onto the bill of someone without a flat-rate bundle.

Not a very successful business model, given their limited uptake - especially when receiving adverts is likely to make a huge dent in such a bundle-user’s data allowance.

The ‘sender pays data’ model is the only viable solution to address this and allow for the growth and widespread take-up of mobile advertising. The process means data charges will be absorbed by advertisers, who can buy data in bulk at wholesale prices, thereby ensuring that no consumer is directly charged for ad delivery.

Everyone can win in a successful mobile advertising market and the projected figures from Gartner and others paint an extremely exciting picture.

However, as the five issues highlighted illustrate there are significant challenges to meet before the potential can be realised. If done well, the penetration and power of mobile advertising could exceed all expectations.