Want a CTR of 8 percent? Then consider mobile. Enpocket's CEO reveals the secret sauce.

Mobile advertising seems to be all the rage over the past few months, but let's cut through the hype and take a look at what's really going on. Mobile operators are beginning to offer mobile advertising opportunities to brands on their mobile web service (WAP), and major brands worldwide are testing it to learn how to engage consumers and drive acquisition activity. We are beginning to see what's moving the needle with mobile ads.

All our brand clients are measuring their campaigns by clickthrough rates (CTR), and most also are measuring engagement through post-click mobile ad mechanics like user downloads of content, viewing of video clips and sending a link to a friend. With a CTR average range of 2 to 6 percent, it's no secret now that the mobile ad response rates are much higher than they are online. But we're also seeing a repeatable trend of much higher rates for certain campaigns. For example, one large import auto manufacturer's program, currently running on the Sprint Mobile Media Network, is getting CTRs in the 8 percent range. 

Why the high response rates? Because the user experience is engaging! Consumers are called to action through mobile banner ads promoting content sponsored by the brand -- ringtones from a trendy music festival -- and then brought to a slick-looking WAP site that features downloads, screen savers featuring sexy shots of the new model, viral "send to a friend" mechanics, and a location-aware dealer finder that allows consumers to click-to-call a local dealer to test drive the car.

This is what it takes to market effectively through the personal device: an advertising experience that instantly rewards the consumer through relevant content and/or mechanics that take them a significant step forward in the purchase process. In an era when the consumer is in control, advertising needs to deliver right away against what sparked that interest, or else the consumer will click away to spend her attention time elsewhere.

Now is a great time to test mobile advertising. In six months, you'll find that the leading brand in your vertical has beaten you to the punch and figured out how mobile fits into the media plan this year and beyond. But before you try mobile, make sure you plan a campaign that allows you to test and learn the unique characteristics of this medium. This is not online advertising, although it bears some similarities.

Here's what we suggest to brand clients: plan a campaign that leverages existing rich media assets that your brand is using in other advertising channels, including TV, print or online. This ensures an integrated communication and also is efficient from a planning and cost perspective. Next, identify desired media sources for the mobile ads. We currently recommend that brands test so-called "carrier-grade media" from sources like the Sprint Mobile Media Network, which have the benefit of very accurate counting and tracking of unique reach, but also test the major off-portal audiences like Mapquest Mobile.

Then, decide what engaging mobile mechanics you want to deploy beyond the click, many of which are unique to the medium. By this, we mean functionality such as Click to Call, Click for a Coupon, Click to Subscribe, Click to Locate, Click to Win, or Click to Download. Here is where you can really take advantage of the always-on, always-carried benefits of mobile, i.e. the user can click to have a sales rep call them, or click to download a coupon that is automatically stored on the phone, or to get a map and directions to a brand's nearest store, and so on.

Finally, make sure you plan carefully to capture campaign data, and report in a manner that allows you to easily track ROI. Unlike online advertising, the mobile internet does not have cookies to track audience reach and frequency. Accordingly, work with an enabler who can not only count the clicks but also track the clickthroughs to the engagement and acquisition activities that happen on the WAP site. This is how you will capture and codify your learnings, laying a foundation for larger budgets that are confidently allocated so as to maximize your ROI.

Mike Baker is chief executive officer of Enpocket. Read full bio.