You may have thought that the direct-response digital series had lost some steam. Au contriare, mon frere. There have been some technical difficulties at the Hand Raiser offices, but Ryan Meray at C! Tech Solutions got us back in the game…we’ll be at 100% capacity soon – but I digress. The real reason we’re here is because I want to talk about mobile. While thinking of ideas for this topic, I was serendipitously introduced to this eMarketer article in my Twitter stream. I am so lucky sometimes, people might confuse it as good.

In brief, the article states that mobile banners out perform standard banners in Click-Through Rates (CTR) and Conversion. In fact, for rich media formats (like floating ads and commercial breaks) the metrics on mobile double up standard web ads in the positive column. Everyone – including myself – have been predicting mobile to blow up like a smoker at a gas station for the past couple of years. It has not happened. At least not yet, that is.

Statistics such as the ones in the eMarketer article suggest that the proverbial shark should be jumped very soon. Total smartphone purchase intent, as represented in the following chart, is at an all-time high of 16.4% according to Change Wave Research. With 52% of those surveyed planning on buying an iPhone, the iAd purchase of Quattro means solidarity among that ad platform. Plus, their $148 Earnings per Thousand (in some instances) number doesn’t hurt either. Android, the other big market share winner doesn’t realize as high of a return on the AdMob platform they run, but I think it is coming soon.

So, if you follow the money it is clear that demand from advertisers and app developers will be there soon. Why? It all comes down to purchase intent study. Whether it is SMS, mobile video, or mobile ads purchase intent is higher on mobile/smartphone devices than online in almost every category, says Mobile Marketer.

Not until recently have I seen data this compelling. Between the growth of smartphone purchase (where most of the mobile ads and purchase decisions are made) and the high dollar opportunities for brands, advertisers, and app developers alike – the explosion is as inevitable as death and taxes.

My recommendation to you, Mr./Mrs. Small Business Owner, is if you’re thinking about getting into mobile do so now. The benefits realized from a quality direct-response campaign could be colossal.  Just make sure that your program is integrated with the rest of your messages (as I will always tell you) because ad awareness, brand awareness, and acceptance are all raised with smart, relevant and well targeted mobile campaigns.

If you’re already using mobile, what ad platform do you use? Have you found one OS to be more or less effective for your products?