NEW YORK ? The time has come for luxury brands to get into the mobile space, according to a workshop at the Luxury Interactive 2010 Conference.

Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer, lead a discussion that made a case for mobile?s value to the luxury sector. The main reason that luxury brands need to go mobile is because it is where the customer is.

?With 275 million Americans using mobile devices and one of two next year to be using smartphones, retailers and brands need to have a mobile presence,? Mr. Alam Khan said.

?Follow Steve Jobs, the guy influences everything we do today,? he said. ?Watch the iPhone?s influence on other sectors and devices.?

Mr. Alam Khan stressed the importance of mobile-optimizing existing email marketing campaigns. Subject lines should be 6-7 words maximum and should begin with the brand name.

In 2-3 years emails on mobile devices will look like emails on the PC.

?Mobile email will be a weapon for marketing,? Mr. Alam Khan said.

Mr. Alam Khan noted a few key trends in the mobile space that luxury brands need to take note of.

Consumers do not simply talk and text on mobile phones ? they browse, shop and buy. Mobile devices give what consumers seek in the relationship with brands ? control.

There is more content consumption on mobile ? news, in particular. This offers opportunity for contextual advertising. Mobile is beginning to be key to the multichannel experience.

Mr. Alam Khan discussed some key best practices for mobile Web site development, stressing that a search functionality be upfront and persistent from page to page of a mobile site.

Store locators are also key for a mobile site.

?Remember that those that are going to visit your mobile site first are the consumers that are already familiar with your brand,? Mr. Alam Khan said.

?SMS needs to be part of the strategy,? he said. ?This is how you are going to use mobile to drive people into stores.?

Companies should consider SMS but remember that they should not annoy the consumer.

?Familiarity breeds contempt in mobile,? Mr. Alam Khan said.

Mr. Alam Khan suggests 2-4 messages per month because not everyone has an unlimited data plan.

Consumers have specific wants from mobile.

They want ease of communication with friends, family, coworkers, business contacts and brands, per Mr. Alam Khan.

Consumers want the ability to search, shop and buy on the device. They want to receive SMS-based offers, updates and retail traffic drivers when opted into mobile CRM programs.

Additionally, consumers want to browse mobile Web sites and applications for product information, store location, pricing, inventory availability and in-store merchandise reference.

?They want the same experience [on mobile] as online,? Mr. Alam Khan said.

According to the presentation, the iPad is going to change laptop and mobile computing.

However, everything consumers do on the mobile phone will not translate directly on the iPad. It will influence PC behavior more.

So how do luxury brands go about crafting a mobile strategy?

Mr. Alam Khan provided the following advice:

? Study audience habits ? buying and media-consumption patterns
? Is the product or service suited for mobile marketing or mobile commerce?
? Discuss channel conflict issues internally
? What have you done on the traditional Web?
? Will the luxury experience and brand values translate well to mobile?
? Marketing or sales, or both? Make objective clear
? Mobile is a medium comprising many channels, but it also serves well as a traffic driver to retail or online experience
? Dedicate the resources ? HR, budgets, time and patience

?Think about what you migrated to the traditional Web and see if you can translate that to the mobile Web,? Mr. Alam Khan said.

?It is your name at stake,? he said. ?Don?t do a shoddy job on mobile.

?Dedicate the resources. No half-measures. Dedicate a good sized budget. Deep pockets? Do everything in mobile ? SMS, Web, apps.?