A new study claims that brand recall for mobile advertising was up 20 percent in the first quarter.

Forty-one percent of mobile device users can remember seeing mobile advertising and name at least one brand, which is up from 34 percent just three months earlier, according to mobile entertainment community Limbo. The number of people who recalled seeing ads on their mobile phones in the last three months has risen from 78 million to 82 million.

"Average U.S. consumers are increasingly comfortable with mobile technology and therefore continue to try new things on their cell phones," said Jonathan Linner, co-founder/CEO of Limbo, Burlingame, CA. "The continuing high rates of adoption and recognition are encouraging for the mobile channel."

Free to marketers, Limbo's Mobile Advertising Report was produced quarterly in conjunction with market researcher GFK/NOP. The first-quarter report is based on a survey of 1,000 representative U.S. adults interviewed by telephone.

In its report, Limbo found that gender and age seems to affect brand recognition. Men are 10 percent more likely than women to recall a brand they had seen advertised. Meanwhile, those ages 25-34 were the highest-performing age group.

Income seems to affects recall as well, with those earning the least much more likely to recall brands than those earning the most.

Limbo also revealed that the most commonly recalled brands are wireless carriers themselves, with Verizon and AT&T as the most popular. Mobile service providers and handset manufacturers are also recalled.

"All advertisers want broad reach," Mr. Linner said. "Mobile marketing and service providers are increasingly able to offer advertisers the ability to get both reach and effectiveness for their ad dollars."

The study also found that mobile penetration has increased as well.

There are an estimated 255 million mobile phone users in the United States, up from 251 million in fourth quarter of 2007.

The mobile Internet is the fastest growing medium, Limbo said. The mobile Web currently has 69 million users, per the report.

Meanwhile, old workhorse SMS continues to dominate in terms of mobile usage. Limbo found that more than 50 percent of mobile phone users text message.

"We continue to see that SMS is the dominant mobile service beyond voice," Mr. Linner said.

"So, today, it's best to invest in SMS-based mobile advertising campaigns or to integrate SMS into your existing campaign," he said. "Looking forward, brands should continue to experiment with mobile video. The adoption rates for mobile video are just too strong to ignore."