In brief: What do Brazilian millennials want from mobile marketing? We wrap up this two-part virtual roundtable with three digital natives with a deep-dive into the brands, approaches and incentives that excite them most.

All attention is riveted on Brazil as the industry gathers there for the Mobile Marketing Association MMA Forum event that kicks off today in Sao Paulo with a special pre-event education session for mobile operators sponsored by the Optism team at Alcatel-Lucent. Optism has also posted a valuable Brazil primer

In brief: In the run up to the Mobile Marketing Association MMA Forum event (September 2, Brazil) MSG has organized a virtual roundtable to interview three Brazilian millennials -- digital youths that reveal what they like and don't like about mobile marketing.

Regular listeners will know that a special focus of this series is mobile marketing – more specifically, permission mobile marketing that is also aligned with the preferences of the people at the receiving end.

In brief: From appointment reminders to mobile shopping suggestions to effective mobile marketing, permission-based messaging ensures a quality conversation with people who want to participate.

We may like to think that smartphones and super-smart devices change all the rules, but companies across all verticals are just beginning to grasp (and harness) the incredible power of text messaging to reach people everywhere.

Editor's note: As with all marketing – digital and physical – the approach you chose depends on your target audience and your business objectives. This guest column from Lisa Cianguilli and the Optism team outlines how companies can start the conversation with people and keep the momentum by offering valuable information and assistance they are sure to value. A community health service might link its mobile campaign to useful information and then follow up with messages that help people plan their visits or access services they need and appreciate. A company in the consumer-facing entertainment business might want to deliver customers concert information, tickets and then follow-up by asking what bands individuals are really interested in knowing about. The takeaway here: precision and knowing your customer is the best way to high performance.

In a mobile marketing service like Optism, there are two different conversations going on: one between the mobile operator and its customers, and one between brands and consumers. In both cases, those initiating the conversation — the operators and brands — need to provide sufficient incentive to their audiences to keep the conversation going. As we talked about in a recent blog, that incentive doesn’t have to be monetary. What is most important is that you focus on providing people content that they want, not content you want them to have.

Your conversations begin with the opting in process, but where you take it from there is up to you. As Jeff Hayzlett tells us in Mobile Marketing Tips, “A marketer’s dream is to engage in meaningful two-way conversations with people who are truly interested in their brand, and mobile gives you that direct line of communication — constantly.” For brands, the challenge is to keep that one-on-one conversation going through creative and compelling interactions that focus on providing useful content. People won’t feel interrupted if what you are providing is valuable to them.