French-owned Havas Digital has launched mobile marketing agency Mobext, timed to coincide with the mobile channel's growth in the United States.

Founded last year, Mobext is already operating in Spain, France, Mexico and Brazil. International clients include Barclays, Nike, Spanair, Toyota and Telcel.

"After years of promise, I believe that mobile marketing's time is now," said Phuc Truong, managing director of U.S. mobile marketing at Mobext, Boston.

"In the U.S., the stars have finally aligned for mobile: mobile subscriber penetration at 85 percent, 3G deployment from the carriers and introduction of all-you-can-eat bundled plans and consumer acceptance for messaging campaigns," he said.

"Also, the iPhone has been a major catalyst for the industry. Not only have they shown the way by having an incredibly intuitive mobile-friendly device for consumers, they have demonstrated to carriers like AT&T that it is possible to create demand for data and get third-party developers excited."

Mr. Truong joined Havas interactive media agency Media Contacts in January 2007 as vice president of business development. Prior to that, he was a cofounder of mobile marketing and loyalty specialist MobileLime, now known as Modiv Media.

Mobext will offer strategic consulting and services in SMS and MMS mobile messaging; mobile video; and proximity-based applications such as bluetooth and location-based services.

The agency will also offer consulting and development, mobile search and WAP advertising for mobile Internet campaigns.

Clients will be able to measure and analyze mobile marketing campaigns through Havas Digital's data warehousing and analytics tool, Artemis.

Mobext isn't yet disclosing names of clients it's working with in the U.S.

"We are working with our existing client base within Havas Digital as well as out-of-network advertisers and brands to bring exciting mobile campaigns to light," Mr. Truong said.

"Thus far, with the U.S. being our fifth Mobext office globally, there is an immediate opportunity for Havas Digital to lead in the area of mobile marketing," he said. "The goal is to ultimately launch global mobile campaigns for our clients."