Google’s recent move follows Microsoft’s acquisition of advertising platform ScreenTonic and AOL’s purchase of Third Screen Media. How does all this influence the future of the mobile internet and advertising opportunities associated with it? 

The most significant message to the entire industry is that mobile advertising growth, which has been sluggish to date, will accelerate thanks to such a firm commitment by Google.

It also sends a very clear message to mobile operators that, as the mobile internet continues to open up, we will see a pursuit for market share by serious players and witness some exciting monetization strategies with strong emphasis on mobile advertising.

Growing numbers of users with access to websites outside of the operator’s walled garden, combined with handsets which make the mobile internet friendly to the end user, will serve as the foundation for the mobile revolution.

Operators’ greatest concern will be to secure their position beyond the dumb pipe generating traffic to other media outlets. Here is where I expect to see some strategic maneuvers with operators, publishers, application stores and handset vendors competing for the attention of the end user.

Rest assured that presence on the handset’s front screen will become most strategic to all. So what will it be? The widget on the front screen leading to a publisher’s site, the operator’s on-device portal, or maybe dynamic broadcasts to the front screen diverting users to the mobile internet?

Let the race begin…

One must wonder though whether mobile carriers, who are so essential for making mobile advertising work, have enough faith in this relatively new line of business to actually invest the necessary resources.

If you look at the rough numbers, the most optimistic forecast for mobile advertising by Informa predicts that this line of business will reach $13 billion by 2011. Nice, but is it enough considering IDC Research’s forecast for operators’ revenue from voice and data to exceed $970 billion by 2012?

So the real question should be is mobile advertising good for operators because of the potential revenue, or does it go beyond?

In my view, mobile operators can really leverage advertisers’ quest to invade the mobile space by using it for what they care about most. And that is customer loyalty. In a saturated mobile market with over 100% penetration in the developing world, operators know that it is more cost effective to retain customers rather than buy them from the competition.

Mobile advertising provides a unique opportunity to give customers exclusive benefits at no cost given that an advertiser is sponsoring the associated royalty and data charges.

Imagine an operator who is able to treat its customers to free or discounted access to exclusive live mobile TV during the world cup thanks to a generous brand sponsorship.

So, mobile advertising can be instrumental to customer retention. It can also play a major role in having mobile consumers engage with the mobile internet and other mobile platforms when the associated costs are sponsored by brands.

Brands however should remember that customer gratitude for the benefits will always be shared between them and the operator. Therefore they must make sure they get the outmost visibility.