Multi-channel marketing services provider Take 5 Solutions is taking on the Big Apple with the grand opening of a new office in Manhattan.

The Boca Raton-based company specializes in SMS and e-mail data as well as direct mail and telemarketing. Its newest offering is SMS/Mobile, which features what Take 4 managing partner Alex Radetich claims is the "largest, most advanced and best maintained SMS/text messaging database service."

Take 5's SMS/Mobile database is generated through product and warranty registrations, online and offline lifestyle surveys, ringtone and other mobile content downloads, online and offline sweepstakes and daily opt-ins. The database is overlaid with full postal and e-mail information as current cell phone numbers.

Major brands in the UK need to step up and get their marketing online - and on to mobile phones. A new study conducted by Redshift Research and sponsored by Oxygen8 Communications, found that although consumers are ready and waiting to get more info on their phones, media outlets and other organizations don't take advantage of digital marketing opportunities.

Some two-thirds of the companies surveyed recognize that consumers aren't as receptive to traditional advertising as they used to be. But 40% said that budget issues keep them from exploring things like e-mail and SMS marketing, while 28% blame their lack of skill and experience for not doing more online or mobile marketing.

Connect2Media, a UK mobile content publisher has purchased RayFusion, a mobile content publisher out of Israel.

At this point, Connect2Media has no plans to change anything about its new acquisition, including its personnel, operations or corporate identity, Mobile Entertainment reports.

RayFusion will now have the backing of its parent's resources to refine its strategy. Connect2Media gains a host of new mobile games and other content to sell and will "leverage our complementary strengths to boost the groups 360-degree approach to digital media," Connect2Media CEO Eric Hobson said in the article.

Blyk, the European ad-supported MVNO, is getting grief from some of its subscribers. These users claim that although they get the required ads on their phone, they're not seeing the promised free airtime minutes or text messages.

Since Blyk's whole business model is built on offering a free service in exchange for receiving ads, this can't be good.

Mobile Today reports that Blyk is essentially blaming the users, saying that they must have failed to save the correct settings on their phones.

While some customers are complaining about not getting their free monthly minutes topped off in exchange for receiving up to six ads per day, others say they've been stiffed on the bonus they're supposed to get when they convince a friend to join the service.

Blyk sales and marketing chief Dean Merrion told the Web site, "We have no technical problems with our top-up facility, but every month we have a handful of members who change their SIMs to new phones without saving new settings, which means that they do not receive messages from brands. This affects their free monthly refill of 217 texts and 43 minutes. We are aware of this and we always educate our members that an MMS phone is required in order for them to receive the full Blyk media experience."

OK, but as we understand it, the complaints are coming from users who are receiving the messages from Blyk's brand partners.

The real question is, do Blyk's users need a babysitter or does the MVNO need to get its act together?

Billing Revolution is out to, well, revolutionize, mobile payments. OK, so the start-up really just wants to make it fast and safe to use a credit card to buy stuff from a cell phone, something that would benefit consumers, content providers, carriers and advertisers - basically the whole food chain.

Taking a page from Amazon's book of success, Billing Revolution has developed a single-click solution that can be integrated into an m-commerce site.

According to a post on TechCrunch, the first time you buy something a site that uses Billing Revolution, you're taken to a Billing Revolution page where you enter your credit card info (presumably there's some sort of safeguard in place to keep that info secure). Once that’s done, you'll get an SMS receipt with a link that you click to authenticate the transaction. After that, whenever you want to make a purchase from a Billing Revolution-enabled site, you'll only have to click the "buy" button and the item will be billed to your credit card.

Sounds pretty cool, if it actually works properly, is secure and if the company is able to sign up enough merchants to entice consumers - and enough consumers to entice merchants.

It used to be that high school kids would beg for a new computer because they needed it for school. Now they can use the same excuse when they plead for an iPhone or one of those snazzy new clones cropping up everywhere.

Why? Well, because they can now download a bunch of study guides including several from American Heritage Dictionaries; CliffsNotes for Beowulf, Great Expectations and others; the Great American History Fact Finder and various science, math and reference guides.

The student helpers come from mobile app developer Incelligence and can be downloaded from Thumbplay.

British start-up Vizimo has gone live with its service that lets consumers get TV listings on their phone. More than that, though, it brings a social networking aspect to deciding what to watch, both live and on-demand, with features for discovery and management of the vast amount of programming available.

The service is initially available in the UK and works on more than 200 phone models. Vizimo plans to expand into other countries and onto more handsets later this year.

Designed to work across mobile, Web and compatible set-top boxes, Vizimo gives advertisers a way to deliver highly targeted, cross-platform ad impressions and reach niche audiences. For producers and content owners, the company says its service lets them grow their market by connecting with new viewers. Once a program description is added to the Vizimo system, it can be recommended to users who have matching interests. Sounds kinda like a bigger, multiplatform version of TiVo's recommendation service.

A new report from ABI Research shows that humans are indeed greedy creatures: You want something from me; you better make it worth my while.

The old adage holds true in the new world of mobile marketing. In its "Mobile Marketing and Advertising" report, ABI found that although people might initially have a negative reaction to getting ads or marketing messages on their cell phones, they often feel differently if offered the right incentive. Of the folks ABI surveyed, some 37% who've received advertising via SMS said they're more likely to respond if they're offered some sort of goodie, like a free ringtone or song or a coupon. Only 11% said their response wouldn't be affected by an incentive.

ABI research director Michael Wolf warns that advertisers and carriers need to use caution when marketing to consumers on their phones, particularly because many consumers feel that since they're paying a lot for their mobile services, they shouldn't have to put up with ads. However, ABI does see consumer acceptance in the future. "We believe that most consumers will ultimately be amenable to limited marketing on their mobile phones, particularly that which is non-intrusive, targeted, and that can bring them some kind of value in the form of both real-world and digital media-based incentives," Wolf said.

Smart Transaction Systems (STS) has made Mocapay its mobile marketing and payment platform of choice to help it add a new dimension to its gift and loyalty card business. Mocapay's platform allows for real-time mobile payments and promos at the point of sale.

Later this year, the two intend to launch a pilot program with a few of STS's retail clients. The integration of the Mocapay platform means that the STS card issuers can let consumers access their gift card funds, make purchases, generate loyalty points and receive targeted promotions on their phones instead of having to present the card at checkout.

The companies claim that the STS mobilized gift and loyalty program using Mocapay will be the first mobile gift card system in the US that allows point-of-sale transactions.

(As someone who's always misplacing her loyalty cards, but never forgets her cell phone, I hope this idea really takes off!)

(Image credit: Jupiterimages Unlimited)

Nielsen has launched a new service designed to help advertisers better connect with their mobile audience. Dubbed Mobile-PRIZM, the new solution combines Nielsen Mobile's Mobile Media Marketplace research with PRIZM lifestyle and segmentation data from Nielsen Claritas to provide deeper insights into consumer media habits, the company says.

Mobile Media Marketplace covers consumer mobile usage, audience sizes and composition. PRIZM classifies consumers into 66 segments based on various socioeconomic data and lifestyle choices.

Nielsen provided the following example of how Mobile-PRIZM works:
Analysis of one PRIZM segment -- Bohemian Mix (a progressive mix of young singles and couples, students and professionals who are quick to check out the latest movie, nightclub, laptop or microbrew) -- shows that this group leads all other categories in mobile Internet usage, with 27% accessing the mobile Internet in the last 30 days, compared to an average 16.7% across all other segments.

According to Kanishka Agarwal, VP of mobile media at Nielsen Mobile, "Targeted customized analysis of mobile usage patterns for PRIZM's 66 consumer segments allows advertisers to make more informed decisions about where to place mobile advertising."

Local events Web site Eventful.com has turned to new location-based advertising provider 1020 Placecast to help it launch a multiplatform campaign that targets users via mobile, Wi-Fi and the Web.

With Placecast, Eventful can segment users based on the location of the events they're interested in. So, consumers perusing Eventful's info on a concert in New York, might see an ad for Scion that includes the address and a link to the closest dealership, for example.

To do its thing, Placecast merges location data from multiple sources, including user-provided zip codes, Eventful Web content and GPS for the iPhone and other mobile devices. It can deliver ads as Flash, text links, image files, video or audio to cell phones and PCs.

Eventful has deployed Placecast across its online advertising inventory and e-mail programs.

GoldSpot Media has released version 2.5 of its miSpot mobile interactive advertising solution. The upgrade adds support for creating and executing call-to-action campaigns across all types of mobile devices. Marketers can drag-and-drop their call-to-action elements into the campaign, adding them either in-ad or in-content.

Additionally, the Web-based tool allows marketers to target consumers by context, profile, behavior or location without having to concern themselves with the type of device or technology the consumer is using - miSpot manages it all automatically, GoldSpot claims.

Futurlink has updated its Wimob Web-to-mobile platform with features and functions that are supposed to make it easier to offer mobile users one-click downloads of ringtones, wallpapers and other content from a Web site.

Wimob 2.0 adds support for a slew of file formats like video, MP3s, photos, images, animations, maps, schedules, vCards, branded games and mobile coupons.

According to Futurlink CEO David Maso, Wimob is like a mobile bookmarking tool that lets users "take the best of the Web with them from their computer to their phone." Wimob also "reads" the type of phone the user has and automatically adapts the downloaded content to best match with the requirements of more than 1,000 handset models, Maso said.

Web site owners can download the Wimob Publisher Suite, a free product that lets bloggers, Web publishers and ad agencies create brandable content that they can distribute through the Wimob service.

The Wimob User Application is the client piece that lets consumers download Wimob-enabled content from the Web to their phone. Once they have the app installed, users can just click the Wimob icon near the content and it downloads to a phone via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, infrared or a USB connection.

Fans of HBO's Entourage know that Vincent Chase and his crew know all the best places to go. Now, thanks to an exclusive deal Pelago struck with Deep Focus, you can know all of those places, too.

Vince, E, Turtle, Johnny and Ari now have their own accounts on Whrrl, Pelago's location-aware social network. These accounts are all seeded with location info and commentary on the bars, clubs, restaurants and other places Vince and the boys have spent time in seasons past. There's a good chance they'll be updated with new places the guys hit this season, but no promises yet from the service.

Whrrl members can auto-friend individual characters or view them as a group. You can check out their favorite hot spots at www.whrrl.com/entourage.

In its effort to make every woman feel like a Seductive Goddess, Baby Phat is reaching out to women wherever they are - by cell phone.

Baby Phat and its creator Kimora Lee Simmons hooked up with multicultural mobile marketing agency Briabe Media to develop a mobile campaign for the launch of its new fragrance, Seductive Goddess.

The mobile element surrounding the launch was tightly integrated into the overall campaign. Perfume lovers could partake of an SMS text-2-win sweepstakes, a branded ringtone giveaway and receive bi-weekly beauty tips from Simmons via mobile alerts. Briabe also put together a mobile Web site for Seductive Goddess to tie everything together.