Most private clubs have banned cell phones from their courses and, frankly, most marketers have treated mobile with equal reticence. 2008 may be the year to give mobile a closer look as technological improvements and new products create fresh opportunities for marketers to engage mobile users. On the technology front, Bluetooth-enabled phones have made it easier for mobile marketers to provide contextually relevant information to their targets. The U.S. Air Force set up Bluetooth transmitters at racetracks as a means of communicating with possible recruits. Apple's iPhone, which seamlessly moves from cell to WiFi coverage, partnered with Google and Yahoo to enable ad-supported programming. A new service, Cellfire, has enlisted a million people to receive coupons for everything from burgers to videos.

 
The promise of mobile marketing is that it can deliver highly personalized and useful information right when you need it. As long as marketers don't send out annoying SMS-spam, mobile marketing could be the missing link in personalized communications in 2008.