Mobile phone marketing, otherwise known as SMS marketing, is the modern evolution of direct promotion. Direct promotion has always been supported by businesses as a personalized and focused method of reaching new customers and, with the advent of mobiles, digital marketing has increased in usage. SMS marketing is perhaps best defined as the practice of advertising products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a timely, focused, personalized and cost-effective way.

The most popular example of digital marketing is SMS marketing, which has expanded rapidly in Europe and Asia. It is estimated that several hundred million promotional messages are sent through SMS every month in Europe alone. SMS stands for 'short message service' and is a communication form specific to mobiles where a short message can be easily sent to any cell owner. As well as sending information to consumers, advertisers can often encourage consumers to join in promotional and brand exposure promotions by encouraging consumers to text a specific number at an event in order to enter a competition, to receive a gift or to have their message displayed on a multimedia wall at an event. All of these methods involves the consumer through the medium of SMS and creates brand awareness.

There are a variety of other forms of digital marketing. One example is sending texts via MMS, which is a multimedia version of SMS, allowing consumers to receive texts with color, pictures and video. There is also mobile web marketing, where companies promote marketing goals through websites accessed by mobiles. Advertisers often make innovative use of digital marketing such as location-based services where consumers are offered bespoke promotions and other network-related information and promotional material based on their whereabouts. With the variety of methods and options available to companies, it is to be expected that a recent marketing survey found that 89% of major brands planned to advertise their products through digital marketing by the end of 2008.

SMS marketing is an example of what is known within the industry as "push" marketing. The concept behind push marketing is that that the business has to send (push) the material to the subscriber in order for the message to be received. This is opposite to "pull" marketing, a passive form of promotion, where it is customers who seek out the information from sources such as websites or blogs.

There are numerous advantages to digital marketing. Primarily, the attraction is that this mode of promotion can be personalized to the user. This is the gold standard in marketing as it means getting the campaign specifically to the audience it's focused on, instead of squandering dollars on an broad campaign. The personalization allowed by this type of promotions, which results in a more economical campaign, is one reason why a high return on investment is possible with digital marketing. Another advantage of digital marketing is the detailed tracking and reporting of recipients it allows. Through this form, marketers can track how many people saw their message and also access detailed information about each subscriber such as their name, their age, their demographic and where they're located. This allows a promoter to develop profiles of their users; information which then guides future marketing campaigns and, ideally, their success.

It is noted in the industry that push marketing, of which digital marketing is a type, can help drive new cash flows and brand reinforcement if it is executed correctly and appropriately. This is because it makes customers aware of recent additions that they may not think to inquire about already and the way a message is written, and even the fact that the message is being sent by a innovative, hip medium such as text, can say a lot about a brand and a company.

There are, however, some disadvantages to digital marketing. Inherently, it requires a mechanism - the cell - to be able to deliver content. The business, as well, must make use of specific equipment and software in order to send the content to subscribers, which can lead to sizeable costs. Another negative is the fact that digital marketing is heavily regulated by the telecommunications industry in response to customer concerns about what information and advertising they get shown. Most Western countries have laws in place that compel companies to get the consent of subscribers before marketing content is received by them and must clearly provide them with an 'opt out' option if they request to stop receiving content. If marketers are found to be in breach of these laws, network providers can block marketing information by companies.

As mobile technology grows, digital marketing will certainly continue to rise in relevance.