India is host to an abundance of dynamic landscapes to navigate, and an increasingly mobile population that craves information and engagement. Smartphone sales in India rose by 87% in 2011 over the previous year¹, and the tens of millions of smartphone subscribers in the region use their devices an average of 2.5 hours each day². Of this, communication (voice and text) accounts for only 28% of usage².

There’s no doubt about it—smartphones are powerful, addictive, and have a dramatic impact on consumers’ online behavior. But what’s the best way to reach mobile consumers, and how can marketers position themselves to take advantage of the smartphone revolution?

The latest research for ExactTarget examines:

The MMA Universal Mobile Ad Package v.2.0 is a set of 6 ad unit sizes that take the guesswork out of planning and buying advertising for mobile phones. With UMAP v.2.0 the MMA is able to identify the ad unit sizes that can run virtually anywhere around the globe, on either smartphones or feature phones. Creative and media agencies benefit from this because they can more readily include mobile in their media plans. Publishers and ad networks also benefit because it removes some of the friction that exists when many sellers offer ad sizes only a fraction different than others.

With U.S. smartphone penetration hitting 40% and tablet ownership expected to exceed 40 million by the end of 2012, the opportunities for reaching users through mobile apps are substantial. But research also shows app abandon rates are very high. How to best engage users in your mobile apps, drive usage and deliver that audience to advertisers? In this joint MMA/NAA Webinar, mobile industry experts will offer five critical steps for optimizing your usage and revenue on mobile apps.

We need to remember to "think human" when it comes to mobile marketing. In today's world of mass marketing overload getting a potential customer's attention is a scarce resource. You need to focus not only on getting the opt-in, but also how to sustain consumer engagement. This should not be done simply with algorithms and technology, it requires a human touch to demonstrate very quickly that what you are offering – your content – is worth paying attention to. This discussion will illustrate best practices for "thinking human."

A great mobile app starts with a good concept, but making that concept a reality is a complex process. Native mobile applications present brand owners with an unprecedented opportunity to connect with their customers – yet most are used a handful of times before they are forgotten or deleted altogether. In order to stake their claim on the most valuable real estate in the world – smartphone and tablet desktops – brands needs to fully understand the mobile application lifecycle and the steps that produce an app that is frequently downloaded and frequently used.

While many newspapers are seeing substantial audience growth on their mobile Web sites, it still represents a small percentage of overall digital audience. More significant, revenue is growth is not keeping pace with traffic growth. In this joint MMA/NAA Webinar, mobile industry experts will offer five critical steps for optimizing your traffic and revenue on mobile web sites.

Mobile Barcodes (more specifically; QR Codes) have started to pop up everywhere. We see them appearing in magazines & catalogs, on outdoor signage, on packaged goods, on billboards, and even as artwork. Given the increasing adoption of Smartphones and rapid advancements in their capabilities, Mobile Barcodes are becoming a powerful advertising vehicle with near infinite opportunities. Unfortunately, far too many Marketers utilizing Mobile Barcodes are sacrificing its true potential – merely using them to direct consumers to an existing website.

If you’re executing your mobile initiatives in a silo that’s disconnected from your overall marketing strategy, then you’re not taking advantage of the true power of mobile marketing. Launching an iPhone app or a mobile web page does not equal a mobile strategy. Instead, successful mobile marketers need to take a more holistic approach to designing a mobile strategy – one that’s tightly aligned with their brand’s broader marketing objectives and mapped to their customer journey.

Looking to drive sales in-store via mobile marketing? In order to do so and generate higher-than-industry-average results from mobile campaigns, context is key.