As founder CEO of Abelson Group Inc., Jennifer D. Abelson runs a company doing public relations for mobile marketing firms including mobile ad network Millennial Media, Movial and The Hyperfactory.

In this Q&A, Ms. Abelson points out her experience with helping mobile marketing firms build their brand presence nationwide and overseas through media outreach. As the Melville, NY-based executive puts it, her goal is to "help mobile marketing companies leap past Internet and broadcast players, faster than a speeding bullet." Here are excerpts from the dialogue with the 15-year telecom PR specialist:

When did you first launch your business?
We launched Abelson Group in 2003 as a public relations and marketing consultancy dedicated to the telecommunications industry.

Today, we are mobile industry experts and go beyond into convergence, Internet, RFID, cable, search, Linux, user interface development, infrastructure, messaging, content, advertising, security, energy and a host of other technologies that impact people's lifestyles and business communications.

How many people and accounts did you start with?
We started with one employee and our first account was Ubiquity Software [now Avaya], an application software provider serving telecommunications providers, software developers, OEMs and device manufacturers.

In just 90 days, we added Convedia Corp. [now RadiSys] and mobile transaction network mBlox, both through word-of-mouth referrals.

Where is your company today?
With numerous first-movers and market innovators under our belts, we work with some of the most interesting and valuable emerging mobile marketing companies.

We're a staff of nine and had our best year in 2008, growing revenues more than 60 percent.

What's your firm's specialty?
Bringing more than 15 years of telecom industry expertise to the table, Abelson Group specializes in VoIP, fixed-mobile convergence, IMS, wireless, fixed and cable infrastructure, mobile applications, gaming, content, content discovery, video, TV, search, mobile marketing and advertising.

Over the years, we've broadened our expertise based on the seasoned talent we've added to our team.

We have expanded our expertise into enterprise mobility, enterprise software, RFID, facial recognition technology, biometric technology, security, consumer Internet technology, digital advertising, search, business intelligence, business process management and outsourcing, user experience, handsets, social media and digital entertainment.

What sort of services do you offer?
Abelson Group offers the programs emerging telecom and technology companies need to position themselves aggressively with their decision-makers, stakeholders, investors and employees.

We offer media and analyst relations, speakers bureau, awards programs, branding/messaging/positioning workshops, company/product naming, media training, executive communications, writing, marketing communications, presentation development, Web site content and strategy, new media strategies and event marketing.

Why choose mobile?
Mobile is the most efficient medium for reaching people, the easiest and best way to share information and make decisions. It's the millennial generation's connection to instant shopping, communication and decisions.

We're experiencing Generation Mobile. It's new and completely unlike TV, radio, print and the Internet.
With capabilities far outreaching other media, mobile generates marketing that's always on, always connected to users, attached to the hip and incredibly influential.

We are fascinated by all of the opportunities mobile affords the consumer and look forward to continuing to foster innovation and growth in mobile.

What have you observed with the mobile market over these past few years?
We seen the birth of advertising on mobile, the evolution of the free ad-supported model for the mobile Web, amazing and breathtaking mobile campaigns that interact with your surroundings, very cool made-for-mobile content for consumers on feature phones and smartphones and the emergence of SMS and PSMS aggregators.

We've also seen the emergence of an IP multimedia subsystem strategy to monetize and maximize convergence, the enormous uptake of mobile SMS messaging, the breakthrough of premium text voting on reality shows, the emergence and hype of mobile search and the emergence of mobile visual search and facial recognition technology using camera phones.

Add to that bar code scanning using mobile phones, the flat lining of voice services, the importance of Linux in the Open Handset Alliance and more open application development for mobile operators, the sex appeal of touch screens, smartphones going mainstream, the death of the walled garden, increasing off-deck application adoption in the U.S., following Asia and Europe, the emergence of premium VoIP services, the launch of social communications and applications on mobile and the integration of content and communication across five screens -- quintuple play.

How have clients evolved over these years?
We've been very happy to facilitate IPOs and build programs that contributed to strategic exit strategies to companies like Google, Cisco and Avaya.

What was the No. 1 issue facing mobile companies in 2008?
The big issue is content discovery and costs for premium services.

We experienced the first free mobile ad-supported model on MySpace Mobile when the site became free to all subscribers across any carrier or handset.

Content discovery is improving through search services, improved on-deck strategies and better promotion and categorization -- vertical tagging -- of off-deck content.

And your most challenging moment since you started your own business?
Choosing the most interesting sectors to go after, and finding the most exciting clients to work with.

We've been very lucky and extremely fortunate to work with leaders like Neven Vision [now Google], Movial, Ubiquity Software [now Avaya], Millennial Media, AIM Global, mBlox, Camiant and many others.

The public relations and marketing business is so dynamic that it's important to focus on bringing the special companies forward and making a difference in people's mobile lifestyles.

And it's important to bring on executive-level PR pros who love mobile, understand it, and are committed to telling its stories for years to come.

How have media attitudes changed towards mobile since the time you opened your agency?
Back in 2003, start-ups didn't earn visibility with high profile media. Since then, mobile has exploded as a medium, and the media knows this.

We've placed stories in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Dow Jones and other major media on a regular basis. Mobile is a hot topic, an area of huge growth and clearly a portal that reaches consumers in ways never explored before.

Does the media get mobile marketing?
Certain wireless and telecom beat reporters really get it.

We've placed several mainstream stories with very mobile-marketing-savvy reporters at The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Washington Post and Reuters, for example.

Specialists like Mobile Marketer, FierceWireless, RCR Wireless, MocoNews and mSearchGroove really know their stuff.

We're working closely with many vertical magazines, blogs, Web site publishers and advertising trade magazines to educate them about the power of mobile and why it's the most accountable and best performing medium in existence.

Are mobile clients different from marketers in other sectors?
Mobile is a new medium, with a new set of rules and opportunities, new problems to solve, new standards and amazing capabilities.

Marketers in the mobile sector are very different from marketers in other sectors. The medium works at a different pace.

People in this market generally come from the telecom or digital industries, already armed with expertise in interactive marketing.

So how do you convince media that mobile marketing is becoming a viable channel?
We show them results, package success stories, give them campaigns to participate in, and come armed with a variety of examples -- from text and banner campaigns with automotive and entertainment companies to award-winning international mobile campaigns with charities and search marketing campaigns with mobile operators and global search giants.

What's the biggest opportunity for companies in this sector?
We keep our clients very well informed -- on regulatory, public policy, competitive and other market and financial issues.

Clients that can comment quickly on breaking news, and intelligently on industry trends -- or better yet -- those who can shape industry trends, are winning the game.

What's important to note with the media?
Relationships are everything.

We bring relevant stories to our media friends, and they appreciate insight and domain expertise almost as much as the news itself.

After so many years working in the telecom sector, many of our media friends are still in the business and have just moved around -- from journalist to analyst or vice versa.

What do you look for in an employee?
Abelson Group looks for brilliant, energetic PR pros with extensive expertise in wireless and business/consumer technologies.

We look for people who are passionate about emerging telecom and technology companies, are great at developing solid, reciprocal relationships with reporters and great storytellers.

This is a very creative business. We need creators -- after all it's getting noisy in this market and we work hard to raise our clients' profiles and stories above the noise.

Any words of advice to media covering the mobile space?
Mobile is the most accountable medium for marketers -- with the best targeting capabilities and the most relevant reach available than any other medium on the planet. Our stories are geared towards illustrating these points.

What are your plans for Abelson next year?
2008 was our best year to date.

In 2009 we'll continue to focus our efforts in RFID, search, marketing, IP communications and content discovery, and broaden our reach in the energy/utility sector. We believe in mobile, and it will always remain a cornerstone expertise and passion for the firm.

One thing we've noticed is the abundance of wireless industry conferences. It's just non-stop. Is that good for the industry or is it contributing to the hype?
As long as the conference has quality participants and audiences, and presents business development or other financial opportunities for our clients, we will continue to advise them to attend, network and speak.

What would you consider as your three proudest achievements since opening your business?
First, attracting Google to buy one of our clients, Neven Vision. Second, hiring three of the most talented executive PR practitioners I've ever had the privilege of working with and third, growing this business primarily through referrals from media and clients, achieving 60 percent growth in 2008.

Do you work long hours? Any time for hobbies?
Working with businesses in emerging markets means long hours.

With international clients, it means strange hours, some early mornings and late nights. But it also means exciting travel -- to Nice, Barcelona, London, Macau and around the U.S.

The key is to make time for hobbies. I spend as much time as possible traveling, playing, reading and running around with my two daughters and wonderful husband.

I'm also a former All American track & field and cross country athlete and just started getting on the road again.

Words you live by?
Be the best you can be.