This week, mobile media company Enpocket released findings from its latest Mobile Media Monitor. The quarterly analysis from Enpocket Insight studies the changing patterns in mobile phone and content usage in the mobile industry. For marketers the findings continue to underscore the prodigious growth of mobile phone users and the opportunity for marketers to reach those users. Mike Baker, pres. and COO of Enpocket said via interview, “There exists a tremendous opportunity for marketing initiatives via mobile. 25% of the world’s population has a mobile phone. That’s close to 1.5 billion people, so that’s a huge reach for marketers.”

The latest survey asked consumers what type of applications they would be interested in using via their mobile phone. Half of all surveyed said they are interested in sharing pictures with friends and family. 33% would like to use their mobiles phones to make or receive video calls, a wish that may become reality with faster data rates on the horizon. 29% want to use their phones to download songs.

As Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), an extension of SMS that allows mobile users to exchange messages including a combination of text, color pictures, video and audio becomes more mainstream, so does the opportunity for branding. In the 25-34-year-old demographic, MMS usage is now at 20%, a six-month growth rate of 100%.

Baker sees mobile growth in auspicious terms in regard to pioneering marketing via mobile. “The upside is that mobile is at the fulcrum of broader development for marketing. There exists an unbelievable opportunity. Everyone carries one in their pocket, it’s a very personal device. It has a reach way beyond TV, yet you can target the individual. And you can even time target them, for instance to remind them that the History Channel is airing a certain show they want to watch.”

The downside or rather the challenge for marketers according to Baker is “How do you create mobile messaging valued by the consumer? Marketing messages have to offer valuable content. The common theme is that you have to entice consumers now to respond. The solution for the mobile medium is defining how a marketer gets the consumer to welcome brand messaging.”

With increased interest in MMS and photo sharing, many brands are looking to applications like mBlogging and peer-to-peer photo sharing, applications that best leverage camera phones.

For Baker the goal is to continue to find innovative ways to market via mobile. One of the Enpocket success stories is with Match.com and Enpocket’s creation and support of Match Mobile, which currently is in 12 countries and continues to grow. “We’re building branded communications and communities. We’re creating communities for the brand to extend the interactive (Match.com) to mobile. So for instance with Match Mobile, you can find someone via your mobile that matches all your criteria for a dating match. Mobile is the ultimate converged consumer device. Its possibilities are endless.”

Baker sees 2005 as the year of “marketing pictures. With the improved accessibility and affordability of picture messaging, 2005 will be the year when marketers start to target consumer segments with mobile applications that take advantage of camera phones."

Enpocket provides compelling entertainment and marketing services to more than 50 operators and 400 brands across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Enpocket clients include: Vodafone, Cingular, TIM, Sprint, Verizon, Orange, Telefonica, Singtel, Nokia, Motorola, Microsoft, Sony, BBC, Fox, Discovery Channel, Time Warner, Universal Pictures, Time Out, Match.com, Snapple, Levi's, Hallmark, and Nike.