The other day we came across an interesting editorial at Chief Marketer.  Columnist Lane Michel opines on the current state of mobile ad spending, and what the future will bring. The article is worth a full read, but we've got some excerpts:

Will mobile phone advertising be intrusive or a boon for the consumer? That debate, which has been building, is about to boil over as wireless phone companies and advertisers run tests.

From today’s $3 billion in mobile advertising spending, ABI Research projects that spending to grow to $19 billion by 2011.

That growth will not come without challenges though:

To consumers, that could translate into many unwanted messages and interruptions on a device most consider very personal.

Despite these challenges, Michel recognizes that the potential is simply to great for them not to be overcome:

Every call made, every text message sent, every Web page surfed from the mobile device is attributable to you, the owner of the phone having a contract with a wireless phone company. It doesn’t take too many leaps to realize that your wireless provider knows where you live and what you do. All phones have GPS tracking as mandated by the FCC for emergency call locating. The behavioral information collected, or that can be collected, about you is what the advertising industry is so interested in.

It’s the holy grail of advertising to make a direct personal ad that gets a direct purchase connection. This is about as close as it gets.

He sees a successful future for advertisers who understand grouped needs, who set up permission systems, who responsively learn, and who build positive consumer experiences.

For more, read the entire article.