ChaCha is focusing its efforts on finding advertisers, but is going about it in a unique and different way.

The company, which is an SMS search start-up based in Indiana, has been growing rapidly as of late. So it was a surprise to some when ChaCha strayed from the conventional efforts of advertising, such as those of Google and Yahoo, and decided to take more of a grassroots approach.

The company is looking for anything from direct placement advertising to mobile loyalty programs to digital coupons. ChaCha claims to have a “much closer relationship with its users” than larger companies and therefore wants to use that to its advantage when it comes to finding advertisers.

In light of this, Founder Scott Jones has been hosting get-togethers for potential advertisers at his home. The company considers the more personal form of going after customers and advertisers to be an important strategy to maintain a high level of growth and loyalty.

“It’s a relationship we’ve developed, and you get to get in on it,” Jones recently told a group of potential advertisers. “You get to insert your brand message.”

The Nielsen Company previously reported that ChaCha has answered more than 150 million questions, mostly by cellphone. While that number doesn’t compare to Google or Yahoo, it does put the company ahead of any other SMS-based answering service.

We’re proud to announce the birth of our iPhone application, which went live on Sunday, July 5th. It’s the culmination of a lot of work and commitment by a small team of passionate people. And we think it’s the first step in developing something special in the online employment space and mobile recruiting.

Users can search through listings by keyword and location. Unlike some apps that use something like job board APIs, we don’t send you to a mobile-unfriendly site, so the whole experience is hopefully consistent. Users can e-mail themselves jobs they like and go through the whole applicant tracking process from a desktop computer.

By the end of the year, we hope to add functionality that’s already on the drawing board. We’ll also learn from our analytics and user behavior to make improvements. This addition of an iPhone app also helps mJob clients get their job content onto the fastest growing mobile device on the planet.

We’re under no illusion here at mJob that we have don’t a long way to go in making this journey complete. User feedback, as always, will be important, and you can’t get that if you don’t get on the field in the first place. Step one is just getting into the game. We’ll get better from there. And well, hell, it’s just fun to be on the iPhone.

To download mJob’s iPhone application via iTunes, click here.

It seems that u2, one of the world’s biggest bands, is forming quite a relationship with mobile.

U2 has released an ad with BlackBerry as part of the group’s joint effort to promote its upcoming mobile album. The Blackberry Loves U2 ad shows what looks like an App that will work with your BlackBerry GPS to locate the band, your friends and other people that have a BlackBerry.

U2 also signed an agreement allowing RIM and BlackBerry to sponsor the band’s current 360° tour.

A new study found some surprising statistics when it comes to how those in the United Kingdom view mobile marketing.

The study – which was a collaborative effort among Aeneas Strategy, Wasabi Mobile Marketing, Camerjam, MSEARCH Groove and Every Single One Of Us – took an in-depth look at the progress that mobile advertising is making in the United Kingdom.

Perhaps the most surprising, the study found that 70 percent of UK consumers would give permission for mobile ads if they were in control and received some sort of incentive. That could open a lot of doors for those looking to reach a particular audience, job-related or otherwise.

Currently, mobile advertising in the United Kingdom is worth about 30 million GBP. However, mobile advertising accounts for only .16 percent of the overall advertising market, which compares to Internet advertising circa 1998. Despite that, mobile advertising saw a growth rate of 99 percent from 2007 to 2008 and is predicted to grow significantly during the near future.

The study found that ad spend among various marketing channels is not proportional to time spent by consumers. In other words, the amount of time someone spends viewing an ad does not correlate with how much was spent on that ad. Overall, much more is spent on press, Internet and TV ads.

Another surprising figure is that less than half of the people questioned think that mobile advertising can be considered trustworthy. Among the respondents, only 43 percent in the UK, 47 percent of men, 39 percent of women and 46 percent of those 16 to 24-years old thought mobile advertising to be trustworthy.

The study further found that consumers are willing to share some, but not all, personal information. Most consumers are willing to share certain information to receive more targeted messages, such as those pertaining to gender, interests, music or hobbies. However, they are significantly less willing to share information such as location or information about income. Overall, the 16 to 24-years old age group is the most willing to share general information, but the least willing to share information on location and income.

The full report will be available for sale later this summer.

Three big name companies are targeting consumers with location-aware ad campaigns on a new social network.

Centrl has partnered with Navteq, a provider of digital map data for location-based services and vehicle navigation, to enable its location-based social network with Navteq LocationPoint, a mobile location-based advertising service.

Navteq LocationPoint Advertising allows advertisers to reach and engage customers on their handsets when and where they are making shopping and purchasing decisions. For example, Centrl users looking for nearby friends and a place to meet can view offers from nearby merchants.

Companies that have taken advantage of this so far include LaQuinta Inn, Chili’s and Jack in the Box. As with employers who are looking to reach job candidates, being able to cater to the location of the user makes the experience more pleasant and more efficient.

Merchant locations will be displayed on Navteq maps. On top of that, merchant services and special offers can be advertised with graphical promotions, mobile coupons and calls-to-action.

“The social element creates huge value for advertisers and also for users,” Murat Aktihanoglu, founder and CEO of Centrl, New York, said. “You don’t need to print or clip anymore offers, you can just show the merchant the details and the coupon page to enjoy the offer.

“Navteq has a very strong brand and they are visionaries in how mobile advertising can be best improved to become a powerful messaging medium,” he continued. “We very much enjoy working with Navteq on optimizing our system both from the advertisers and users point of view.

The new service, which is available on the Web, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, enables users to access discount offers, keep track of and communicate with friends, as well as access restaurant reviews, local events, real estate listings and nearby gas stations.

Social features allow users to login from social networks, send virtual gifts and free text messages while accessing maps with various content. The location-based social network allows users to connect with nearby places and people that match their interests on smartphones and social networking sites.

“Centrl is working on establishing the guidelines for the next-generation of how advertisers will best communicate with consumers,” Aktihanoglu said. “We believe that geo- and behavioral-targeted messages will be the best way and will almost provide a ‘benefit’ to users because of the high degree of targeting.

“In this regard, we found Navteq to be a great match to what we are trying to do,” he added. “While most mobile ad networks are still at the ZIP-code level in terms of geo-targeting, we have worked with Navteq from the beginning to take advantage of Centrl’s real-time rich interface and send offers to users in a very relevant way, right next to them.”

AdMob recently released new research on the demographics and behavioral characteristics of iPhone and iPod touch users. The research found that while there are several similarities between users of the two devices, there are key differences in the demographic makeup of each group in areas such as age and household income.

The research found that five in 10 people use the iPhone and iPod touch more frequently than they read printed newspapers. More than 40 percent say they use the Internet on their mobile device more often than using the Internet on a computer or listening to a radio.

The research further found that iPhone users are generally older. About 69 percent of iPod touch users are between 13 and 24-years old, while only 26 percent of iPhone users are in that age group. About 31 percent of iPhone users are 35 to 49-years old, while only 12 percent of iPod touch users are in that age group. Overall, 74 percent of iPhone users are older than 25, compared to 31 percent of iPod touch users.

On top of that, more than 70 percent of iPhone and iPod touch users are male. iPhone users also have higher incomes, with 78 percent seeing an average annual household salary of at least $25,000, compared to only 66 percent of iPod touch users seeing that salary.

Also, iPhone users are more likely to have children than iPod touch users, which can be accounted for by the difference in age of the two user groups. About 46 percent of iPhone users have children, while only 28 percent of iPod touch users do.

And the research found that in the next six months, 57 percent of iPhone users plan to buy clothing, 47 percent plan to buy enteratinment and 45 percent plan to travel. When it comes to iPod touch users, 61 percent plan to buy clothing, 53 percent plan to buy entertainment and 36 percent plan to buy mobile phones within the next six months.

“This research highlights how important it is for marketers to understand the mobile landscape and the characteristics of the users of a particular platform or mobile device,” comScore Vice President Loftlon Worth said. “Putting a little extra effort into the planning process can help a mobile campaign be significantly more successful.”

The research was conducted by comScore on AdMob’s iPhone network of mobile Web sites and applications, meaning it’s representative of AdMob, but not necessarily the overall mobile population.

Google has released a new version of iGoogle for the iPhone and Android phones.

“This new version is faster and easier to use,” a company spokesperson said. “It supports tabs as well as more of your favorite gadgets, including those built by third-party developers … One of our favorite new features is the in-line display of articles for feed-based gadgets. That means you can read article summaries without leaving the page. You can also rearrange gadget order or keep your favorite gadgets open for your next visit.”

Google previously released an iGoogle interface optimized for iPhone in 2008, but it discontinued that version a year later.

“We’ve decided to direct iPhone users to the standard mobile iGoogle page,” the company said at that time. “We’ve found that people hit iGoogle from lots of different phones – we want to ensure you’ll all see the same version.”

However, the regular mobile interface is basic and only able to show feeds and a small number of gadgets. The mobile iGoogle doesn’t have tabs and is optimized for WAP phones instead of smartphones.

To access the new version of iGoogle, go to iGoogle.com on your iPhone or Android phone and click on “Try the new Mobile iGoogle.” Google won’t allow you to switch to the new version, so bookmark the page in order to access it in the future.

If you’re an adult, you won’t be able to use a recently-launched mobile application. But for teenager’s, that’s the draw.

Fanta, a soft drink brand of the The Coca Cola Company, recently teamed up with Ogilvy Advertising to create the Fanta Stealth Sound System. The mobile application allows teenagers to talk in secret without adults being able to know they’re even communicating.

The application works by using technology that incorporates very high pitched sounds that are audible to teenagers but unidentifiable to adults. This is the same technology that was previously used to prevent teenagers from gathering in public places.

The application plays a series of sounds, which users can choose from a pre-set menu. The sounds all have pre-defined meanings, allowing teenagers to secretly communicate. The application allows for quick response and doesn’t require data charges.

The product will play to Fanta’s brand message, of which teenagers are an important part, by conveying its playful imagination.

“Mobile advertising is all about using the unique elements of the wireless device as opposed to borrowing inventory from previous media channels,” Scott Seaborn, head of mobile technologies at Ogilvy Group UK, said. “Mobile phones are communication tools. This fact was not forgotten in our creative work for Fanta on mobile.”

Sander Munsterman, CEO of XS2TheWorld, which served as Ogilvy’s technical partner on the project, said the application took only two weeks to create.

“The most important thing was the app had to look flashy and had to work on the broadest range of handsets,” he said. “The development process went very smooth as Ogilvy provided us with all the right material.”

The application has been distributed free of charge from the Fanta mobile site, which also offers games, ringtones, wallpapers and 3D downloads. The mobile site’s URL also was placed on 60 million cans throughout the United Kingdom. Ogilvy also created a humorous video about the application. The application has been downloaded more than 320,000 times during the past month alone.

“We felt this was a perfect way of engaging with our core target group of teenages in a way we hadn’t done before,” Prinz Pinakatt, group interactive marketing manager at Coca Cola Europe, said. “It helped us to become part of a community – the community is teenagers. It’s brilliant.”

Those who are taking advantage of the power of mobile should start to focus on the local element.

Some reports are revealing that local mobile advertising will soon be a big trend, with local mobile search at the top of the list. If you’re using mobile methods to attract job candidates – whether through text messaging campaigns or setting up a mobile-friendly Web site – you should know that focusing on local can benefit your company and job seekers.

Using local mobile advertising or local mobile search can allow a job seeker to pinpoint companies that are hiring and see open positions within their local market.

In “Going Mobile: The Mobile Local Media Opportunity,” The Kelsey Group states that local mobile ad revenue will reach $3.1 billion in 2013, an increase from $160 million last year. At the same time, mobile search will reach $2.3 billion. During 2008, local searches made up 27.8 percent of all searches, but that number is expected to reach 35.1 percent by 2013. The report further states that about 15 percent of all Apple iPhone applications are local.

“As mobile data consumption rises, we expect local marketing to be a big winner,” Michael Boland, program director for mobile local media at The Kelsey Group, said. “There is a strong correlation between local search and the mobile use case, which will cause a good portion of the ongoing mobile application boom to focus on local.”

In the “U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast (2008-2013)” report, The Kelsey Group predicts that local advertising revenues will decrease from $155.3 billion in 2008 to $144.4 billion in 2013, a negative 1.4 percent compound annual growth rate.

Throughout that time period, only the local interactive segment will show growth, but all other local media will see marginal to rapid declines during the next 18 to 36 months. Only a small amount of traditional media will rebound, thanks to a revived economy beginning in 2011, but most traditional media will continue to decline.

The interactive share of local ad spending will go from 9 percent in 2008 to 22.2 percent in 2013. The local interactive segment will increase from $14 billion in 2008 to $32.1 billion in 2013, while the traditional segment will decrease from $141.3 billion in 2008 to $112.4 billion in 2013.

“Within the local advertising sector, there will be a real share shift, and the players most ready to leverage and adopt interactive models will achieve greater success going forward,” Kelsey Group CEO Neal Polachek said. “The share shift we expect could actually be more pronounced if the major traditional media are not able to integrate new interactive products into their bundle.”