• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 2, 2010

With mobile advertising and marketing expected to enjoy explosive growth over the next few years, more advertising and media agencies are opening dedicated mobile practices. The latest is Mullen's Mediahub, which is forming a new mobile division to spearhead creative collaboration with mobile media specialists.

The new operation will be led by Brenna Hanly -- formerly Mediahub's emerging media specialist. She now carries the new title of mobile catalyst.

The dedicated mobile practice will focus on the creation and distribution of mobile apps, banners and tablet creative, as well as mobile commerce, campaign metrics, and offline campaign activation. It builds on Mullen's experience creating integrated mobile campaigns for various clients, including Timberland, Ernst & Young and Foxwoods Resort Casino.

It has also produced mobile app and tablet computer campaigns for Olympus, Stanley, Century 21, Victorinox Swiss Army and MassMutual.

One of Mullen's recent campaigns for Olympus, on the theme "Look What You Can Do," including an augmented reality integration with Wired and a role as the charter sponsor of the mag's first iPad app. Last year, Mullen produced "Expedition Timberland," a mobile app for the footwear brand targeting urban consumers with an outdoor bent. It included city guides for hiking and biking in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and Denver, a game called "Timber Trail," a music component, a gear section and a WAP site with a full product catalog, click-to-call functionality and store locators.

Recent projections from ABI Research have the market for mobile display advertising alone jumping from $313 million in 2010 to $1.5 billion by 2015.

Presently, 28% of U.S. mobile subscribers access the mobile Internet on a daily basis, according to ABI.

A separate study from Pew found that 82% of the U.S. adult population own a mobile device. Eleven percent of U.S. adults who own a mobile device have used it to make a purchase, 23% have used it to access an online social network, 20% have watched a video and 11% have made a charitable donation.