Taking greater leaps than ordinary

This November, Universal is launching a mobile website, the first step in taking control of its mobile marketing by distancing itself from major carriers.

Marketers typically conduct mobile marketing through "decks": Pre-packaged content offered by carriers like Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and Vodafone, according to AdWeek. Creating an "off-deck" site allows Universal to control the site's look and feel. One exec called going off-deck the equivalent of leaving Wal-Mart and opening your own boutique.

Though Universal will reportedly remain "on-deck," the new move is a marketing experiment in a more liberal direction. Hopes are high that the project will become a long-term cash cow in the mobile content sales realm.
Fox attempted a similar move with the creation of website Mobizzo last year. Mobizzo since folded into Jamster, part of the conglomerate's joint venture with Jamba.