Earlier this week I strolled outside to the mailbox to find something unexpected: Junk mail that wasn't junk at all. It was a cardstock promotion from American Airlines, designed in the size and shape of a Nokia N95 smartphone and dedicated to the carrier's mobile web service. The promo succinctly outlines the benefits of the AA.com mobile site, promising travelers wireless access to features like check-in, itinerary viewing, flight booking and changes, upgrade requests and so on. "You're on the go" it reads, and without a doubt travelers are a consumer demographic uniquely positioned to capitalize on the promise of the mobile platform--away from their homes, offices and PCs, their handsets are a lifeline to information and services they might otherwise access through more traditional channels.

I don't recall receiving direct mail promoting a company's mobile website before. For that matter, it's unusual to see the mobile web advertised in any format or venue. Think about the focus of most mobile operator TV commercials: The spots inevitably feature network coverage, pricing plans or new handset models. Mobile data services almost never enter the equation. Compare Apple's iPhone advertisements to its operator partner AT&T's ads: While Apple routinely emphasizes the mobile Internet, social networking and mobile video, AT&T proudly touts "More bars in more places," tacitly acknowledging that network coverage remains a dicey proposition even at this advanced stage of the industry's evolution. The contrast is so extreme that it's difficult to believe Apple and AT&T are more or less advertising the same technology and services.

The only time you regularly see operators promoting mobile data is in connection with some kind of sponsorship deal, whether it's AT&T's support of American Idol text voting or Verizon Wireless' patronage of the Stanley Cup playoffs on cable network Versus, a pact that includes commercials for NHL highlight videos and news delivered via the carrier's V Cast service. But even that pales in comparison to Verizon partner ESPN's proactive promotion of its ESPN MVP mobile service--the sports giant regularly airs commercials that accent multimedia features including play-by-play game tracking, fantasy team management, video alerts and analyst commentary. But there's only so much companies like American Airlines, Apple and ESPN can do to sing the praises of the mobile experience: That responsibility ultimately rests with the operators. But when the message is still "Can you hear me now?" everything else gets drowned out. - Jason [1]