Mobile marketing is going to change everything we know.

That’s according to Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image, speaking at Marketing’s Mobile Marketing 2.0 conference yesterday in Toronto.

“Mobile is going to change business. It’s going to change marketing. And it’s going to fundamentally change who consumers are and how they buy products,” said Joel in his closing keynote.

But, he added, mobile is not about the phone or a text message offering a free Coke with a Big Mac.

“This is not true mobile marketing at all. This is not true mobility at all. We’re just getting started.

“We have to understand that the fundamental shift is happening right in your pocket. This isn’t a phone, this isn’t a mobile device, this is your remote control for your life.”

New mobile devices such as smart phones “enable you to do things you could never do before,” he said, citing the Stanley level iPhone app, a digital level dubbed as “possibly the world’s first virtual construction tool.” Another example is an iPhone app that Sears developed, which uses GPS technology to pinpoint the shopper and showcase geographically relevant products as well as closest stores. Customers can buy products through the app.

“If you think [mobile] is about text codes, I’ve got news for you,” said Joel. “That’s not the win here.”

He noted that marketers’ “biggest mistake is also our biggest opportunity. Our biggest mistake is that we’re doing mobile advertising and we have to get away from that. We need to start mobile marketing.”

Joel referenced Andy Nulman, president and CMO of Airborne Media, who has talked about his “N.O.W.” approach to mobile marketing. That is, “nearby:” customers need to be in your radius; “only:” there has to be a limit to the offer (for example, “come to this bookstore now and receive 40% for the next two hours”); and “wow:” there has to be a compelling offer.

“If you follow those three simple rules, you will have success every time,” said Joel.

Earlier in the day, Mickey Alam Khan, editor-in-chief of New York-based Mobile Marketer, said mobile is “the best tool you have for loyalty marketing. The next generation will not have the same affinity [we have] for e-mail, so you’ve got to have mobile.”

But, he cautioned, “you must know your audience. Just because everyone is on mobile doesn’t mean you have to be. If your customers are not mobile savvy, wait. If they are mobile savvy, don’t wait.”

In his presentation, “Wap vs. App,” Phil Barrett, vice-president of digital and mobile at B Street, noted that mobile devices have a 72% penetration rate in Canada.

“Adoption is finally getting to the point where it is a mass media,” he said. “Think of mobile as something you need to integrate right now.”

Barrett said about four million Canadians are accessing the mobile web through their mobile device. Yet only 0.8% of all domains are mobile-friendly.

“The user experience has to be optimized for the mobile web,” he said, adding that mobile websites need a specific purpose. “Don’t just take your website and make it smaller.”

As far as the Wap vs. App debate goes, Barrett concluded “do both.”

“But probably start with a mobile website, unless an app really fits your audience.”