Media Week (UK) recently put that question to a panel of four industry experts, including Kent Ferguson of Nielsen Mobile.

Ferguson argued that four essential components needed to take mobile advertising mainstream — advanced consumer devices, high-speed networks, reasonable data packages, and compelling content — are now in place, paving the way for growth. 

“In the UK, about 10 million people have recalled seeing a mobile ad; in the US, that number is almost 60 million,” Ferguson told Media Week.  “As more countries lay down the groundwork for an effective mobile advertising channel, mobile’s share of the ad-spend pie will grow.”

Ferguson’s fellow panelists mostly agreed that mobile advertising has a bright future — only Peter Markey, head of marketing at RSA, offered a dissenting opinion.

“Mobile can play a role, but it will not become a major [advertising] channel, and you won’t see clients pulling spend from radio or TV, for example, and putting it into mobile,” Markey argued.