By Alan Chapell

Today's mobile devices obviously enable users to do much more than just talk on the phone. They are multichannel communications tools that can download and play videos, send and receive text messages and emails and browse the mobile Web.

Applications designed for Apple's iPhone can turn the device into a video game console, a GPS device, an interactive phone book, even a thermometer and barometer.

As device, message and network technology continue to improve, so will the opportunities for marketers to use mobile to communicate with customers. But cool ideas alone won't cut it.

With all signs pointing to a floundering economy in 2009, hospitality organizations need mobile marketing solutions that generate real ROI.

I have identified three areas in the mobile marketing space where hospitality organizations can really differentiate themselves to customers and prospects -- all while leveraging technology that offers high ROI.

Mobile blogging
With the increased proliferation of smartphones, blogging has become, arguably, the hottest new thing in mobile.

The blogosphere has earned its place in mainstream interactive media after years of being considered merely a fringe segment.

Today, virtually every leading newspaper and broadcast outlet has a blog section where reporters, columnists and on-air personalities can expand on their day-to-day reporting and commentary, fueling the rise of online consumers who access blogs regularly to more than 50 percent.

What does the popularity of blogs mean for hospitality brands and advertisers?

EMarketer estimates that U.S. blog advertising will increase to $746 million in 2012, from $283 million in 2007. Advertising on blogs can be effective as a business-to-business or business-to consumer tool.

New technology, from companies such as MoFuse (short for Mobile Fusion), enables content publishers to put their content and advertising on the mobile Web seamlessly.

Hospitality giants such as the Starwood group of hotels can now mobilize and integrate their corporate and individual branded sites, and place advertising on some of the Web's most popular mobile blogs such as Mashable and Huffington Post.

MoFuse is one of the fastest-growing mobile publishing networks in the world.

Recently adding the 15,000th blog to its mobile network, it is the first mobile network to enable interaction between blogs and mobile blog readers, giving brands a new way to reach both consumers and the business community.

"Blog content is the perfect content for mobile, and the quick adoption of our platform demonstrates how directly we're meeting this business need," said Annette Tonti, CEO of MoFuse.

"Blogs are snackable bites of condensed information, with a large, regular, highly engaged audience -- which also makes for great advertising opportunities when matched with the right content," she said.

Text messaging
SMS, or short messaging service, is one of the fastest-growing media channels on mobile. SMS publishers deliver real-time messages to millions of consumers on a daily basis.

This type of mobile advertising provides a simple and effective entry point for mobile consumer engagement.

SMS advertising enhances branding and provides easily quantifiable campaign results for performance marketers.

Another benefit of SMS advertising is that marketers and brands can reach the precise mobile audience they seek through demographic, geographic or contextual targeting.

Advertising can be embedded in a wide variety of SMS messaging such as sports scores, stock quotes or entertainment polling.

MoVoxx is a mobile advertising agency that leverages SMS, enabling marketers and brands to reach specific mobile audiences instantly.

MoVoxx partners with SMS content publishers whose lists are built through subscriptions.

By including small opt-in advertising in each message, MoVoxx helps brands deliver short, interactive, marketing messages under any SMS content.

Last year MoVoxx worked with a major luxury hotel brand to promote the opening of a new hotel in Scottsdale, AZ.

The "grand opening" campaign offered a free night's stay with the purchase of two nights at the new hotel. The offer was embedded in SMS messages sent to affluent travelers during Super Bowl XLII in February 2008.

Using detailed consumer profiles, the MoVoxx SMS campaign was able reach the right audience, demonstrated by the 3.84 percent response rate to the offer -- a strong response for any marketing medium.

Location-based mobile targeting
Consumers today are savvier than ever about the marketing messages they receive.

It is no longer a pleasant surprise but an expectation, especially with digital media, that marketing touch-points will reflect an advertiser's knowledge of them.

Consumers want to receive offers that recognize previous purchases and suggest complementary products or services. They want content that grabs and holds their attention and is tailored to their interests.

Think search engine marketing and search engine optimization are powerful marketing tools? Today's marketers can target ads against search queries on a mobile device based not just on the user query but also on their demographic and behavioral characteristics, as well as their precise location.

That's what WHERE, a widget provided by u-Locate and one of the most popular downloads by iPhone users, is doing today for some of the largest mobile companies.

Launched for the iPhone last summer, WHERE uses GPS targeting to help users find just about anything they need. Advertisers from Burger King to Zipcar and others already have been leveraging it to great effect.

Business travelers have begun to swear by the GPS capability in their mobile devices, rather than swearing at the maps provided by car rental companies.

Alan Chapell is president of Chapell & Associates, a New York-based technology and media consultancy. Reach him at .