An article by MediaPost Publications cites an eMarketer research study predicting the global mobile marketing industry to reach $19B by the year 2012.

Domestically, the 2007 mobile marketing spend reached $878M and the U.S. is expected to lead the growth trend through 2011. After that point, the size and development of India and China are going to play a major part in the global market.

Widespread adoption of mobile marketing technology is yet to occur, with uncertainty regarding restrictions and regulations on mobile marketing as a possible obstacle. Even so, the statistics for customer interaction are promising at 12% in the United States, according to the article. For more information on mobile marketing regulation visit the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) website; they have a Code of Conduct for Mobile Marketing drafted as a set of guidelines for mobile marketers.

Because mobile phones have become such an integral part of everyday life for so many people in this country, text-based mobile marketing is one of the most reliable ways to reach customers and serves as a great medium for customer retention campaigns or alerts and notifications. Mobile customer acquisition and marketing list growth opportunities arise when two-way communication is enabled via shortcodes or mobile text.

Even with such a high rate of expected growth, mobile marketing may not be for everyone. The majority (more than 70%) of the mobile internet marketing audience is below 35 years of age, so companies with a relatively younger customer base stand to benefit more from the growth of the mobile marketing industry, even if text-based messaging still makes up for most of the mobile marketing revenue. However, as time goes on with advances in technology and the adoption of mobile communication, especially in India and China, these demographics could change dramatically over the next few years.