By 2013, PCs will need to accept the inevitable: they have been replaced with the shinier, prettier, easier, more portable smartphone. Analysts predict that - in only two years - the number of smartphones will exceed total desktop and laptop computers in the United States. Even now, smartphones have shouldered their way to the front of the crowd and are refusing to be denied.

Consider:

• Within the next 5 years, more users will access the Internet with their mobile device than through a desktop PC. (Morgan Stanley, 2011)
• 76.8 million people in the U.S. own a smartphone, up 11% from just three months ago. (ComScore, 2011)
• 234 million Americans aged 13 and older use mobile devices. (ComScore, 2011)
• Mobile data traffic (essentially, the amount of information exchange that occurs when users surf the Web from a smartphone) is expected to increase by almost 4,000 percent by 2014, a CAGR of more than 100%. (Morgan Stanley, 2011)

What does this mean for you and your brand?

Mobile can't wait for Phase 2. Historically, digital efforts have focused first to The Website Proper, then expanded to include mobile when time and budget permitted.

However, your customers no longer have any patience for Phase 2.

This is largely because millions of them are now equipped with a device that has given them a glimpse into a world of instant information: their expectations have evolved to the point that mobile is no longer a "wow" but is simply a fundamental expectation for your brand.

Smart mobile strategies start with your story. When digital first stepped on the scene, developers built sites specifically for desktop PCs, because they were the only "device" that existed.

Enter mobile, and boom! Suddenly, developers couldn't count on fixed screen resolutions and mouse-driven interactions: the implications were paralyzing.

But the solution is easy: start with your story.

Smart digital strategies start with your brand, your customers, and the desired outcomes first - an utterly device-agnostic assessment.

Then, we align what you have (your brand), who you want to reach (your customers) and what you want them to think, feel and do (desired outcomes) with the unique capabilities of each device to capitalize on what they do best - a completely device-specific implementation.

Not if, but when. The first handheld phone debuted in 1973: it was more than a foot long, weighed two pounds and sold for $3,955 ($19,300 in today's dollars). Today, the National Literacy Trust reports that American children are more likely to have a phone than own a book (85% versus 73%). The trajectory and impact of smartphones can't be underestimated ... or deferred to Phase 2