Europe UK : Wireless industry researcher W2Forum has created a set of recommendations for companies in the mobile content market that it believes are imperative to the long-term success of mobile content services in Europe, Asia and North America and also the survival of companies in this sector.

Inset is Graham Brown who is the lead author of the report.

With estimations on the market value of Mobile Content services such as mobile games, ringtones, downloadable music and access to information services valued at E9.9 billion in 2006 the potential rewards for companies are high.

"Success in this market is not to be taken for granted." comments Graham Brown, author of the latest research, "The development of the Mobile Content requires the collective industry to being able to develop and implement effective distribution channels."

The content market requires a combination of effective payment, marketing and delivery of services - factors that are likely to take precedence over the quality of the content.

"We studied in depth the key markets of Europe, Asia and North America in order to draw up a distinct set of recommendations that are specific to each of the regions dependent on the status of each market" added Brown.

The mobile markets of these regions are at sufficiently different stages of development for lessons learnt in Asia to aid the development of the mobile content markets of Europe and North America.

Amongst the key recommendations are that successful businesses in this market will be those that are able to shape their strategy and positioning to ensure survival as markets reach maturity. A high degree of profitability in developing markets such as those for ringtones and mobile games is no guarantee of future success as the number of companies entering the market drawn to the potential rewards will not only increase competition but also increase development costs.

The content market is already witnessing the entry of global branded content players such as MTV, Disney, Sony Music as well as leading games titles such as Tomb Raider .These non-mobile brands have the visibility and wealth of content to drive consumer uptake posing a real threat to poorly positioned mobile content companies.

"These companies are stronger financially. They understand how to market products to the consumer more effectively and their relationships are far reaching. There is a lot of opportunity out there for the more competitively positioned mobile players, its just a case of stepping back from the market and appreciating how its shape will change over the next 5 years. The Industry needs to plan long term and build in their strategy for working with these companies, providing expertise the non-mobile players don't have."

The new report - Winning and Losing in Mobile Content is available for purchase online at www.winningandlosing.com and is based on 3 months of extensive studying of individual mobile content markets in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific and surveys of 400 industry executives.