This week, Apple announced its iAd mobile marketing system will be available in Europe beginning next month. Also this week, the Mobile Marketing Association awarded the winners of its Sixth Annual Global Mobile Marketing Awards in Los Angeles, and a group (including the Weather Channel, Crisp Wireless and Tring Apps) was formed to create a new open standard for serving rich media mobile advertising across all devices and platforms.

The flurry of activity in the mobile sector continues to increase, seemingly by the day. What are publishers - inundated by this tidal wave of mobile marketing-related news - to do?

Image: Modmyi.com

BizCommunity.com posted a Top 10 list today by Multimedia Solutions to help publishers focus on important building blocks for mobile marketing:

1. Mobile phones are people's most treasured communication device. It's where they have their most intimate conversations and it holds their attention more than any other device - don't abuse that.
2. Think long term. A base needs to be built up from the start. A base that wants to receive your information. Short term gains attained by Spamming a base result in long term losses.
3. Incorporate mobile into all marketing strategies from the start. Integrate it into traditional marketing campaigns as well.
4. Mobile is the most measurable medium. Use the live tracking to experiment and see what works and what doesn't.
5. MMS and mobile websites (mobsites) work in tandem. The mobisite provides the ability for more in-depth information, but the MMS gives the push factor.
6. Always incentivise. Giving people a reason to respond and to returning is key to growing a base.
7. Always include a reason to pull in other people. Incentives for drawing other people into the base are vital.
8. Mobile is interactive. Get the base to talk back to you and show that you're listening to what they say.
9. Mobile is a work around for emails that get blocked by many companies and it's a cost saver. Look into MMS statements and mobile communication instead of printed brochures.
10. Communicate regularly. Mobile marketing requires a steady flow of communication to build momentum. Ad hoc campaigns are far less effective.

End-goals for mobile marketing may be as simple as looking at the categories the MMA awards.

Categories for the MMA awards for Best Use of Mobile Marketing (awarded by region) are: Branding, Cross Media Integration, Direct Response, Product/Services Launch, Promotion, Relationship Building and Innovation, as well as singular awards for Social Impact, Academic of the Year, Individual Achievement, Overall Excellence and Lifetime Achievement.

Meanwhile, evolving and developing technologies around the world, should be noted, as no mobile marketing plan is ever finished.

For its part, the iAd expansion is expected to "create even more great opportunities for developers," Apple Vice President of iAd Andy Miller said. The company, which hosts and sells the ads, allows third-party developers to keep 60 percent of the revenue they generate.