Abstract This dissertation aims to examine the theoretical and empirical foundations of the mobile marketing phenomenon. While numerous studies have yielded important insights into this topic, the existing mobile marketing literature appears to be inconsistent and somewhat fragmented. With the help of two action research projects, interviews of mobile marketing practitioners, and an online survey, this study aims to contribute to our understanding of the nature of mobile marketing communications in consumer markets. This thesis consists of an introductory section and five papers. The first paper evaluates the current state of mobile marketing research based on a review and an analysis of extant literature that focuses on mobile (or wireless) applications aimed at marketing or advertising. Various definitions of mobile marketing are evaluated and a more technologically-agnostic definition is provided. The second paper presents a framework of the mobile marketing communications environment that delineates how mobile marketing should be integrated into a company's integrated marketing communications strategy. A comprehensive overview of divergent mobile marketing activities is provided, along with representative examples derived from popular press. In addition, a detailed description of mobile marketing campaign planning and its implementation process is provided. The third paper provides a conceptual model of the relationships between interactive integrated marketing communications and database management in a mobile context. The results from empirical research suggest that consumers are willing to participate in Short Message Service (SMS) marketing in a retailing context. The fourth and fifth papers utilize data collected by means of an online survey (n = 4,062) and examine the factors associated with consumers' intention to receive mobile advertising messages and responses to SMS direct-response campaigns. The results suggest that consumers' intention to receive mobile advertising messages is related to the relevance of the message, permission to receive mobile advertising messages, the benefits of receiving the message and the privacy of personal data. In addition, the results suggest that women and men differ significantly in their responses to SMS call-to-action campaigns, consumers aged 36–45 years are most likely to respond to SMS call-to-action in a TV program and participate in SMS sweepstakes and other competitions, and that employment status has a substantial impact on consumers' SMS campaign activity. Overall, this thesis provides a conceptual and theoretical foundation intended to guide research efforts focused on mobile media and to aid practitioners in their quest to achieve mobile marketing success.