Last week, we discussed the incredible growth of online video, including impressive stats such as the industry’s expected $3.0 billion value by 2012.

We continue the discussion today (three-part series) around the growth of mobile – a cross-generational phenomenon, driven by cross-channel media consumption – and later in the week, the intersection of social and video.

The Rise of Mobile

The mobile space is blowing up, providing advertisers with opportunities to engage the busy, “4G” consumer through localized and interactive video content via their personal devices. Advertisers are adopting PDA strategies as mobile advertising results in 19 times higher increase in “aided awareness” when compared to online video performance. According to the Yankee Group, Americans now spend an average of one hour and eighteen minutes per day on their mobile phones.

Now, for the first time ever, the average time U.S. consumers spend online is the same as they spend watching TV, and from a generational standpoint, although Gen Yers have been spending plenty of time online for several years, this is the first year for Gen Xers.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we’re witnessing the death of TV The same report points out that online growth hasn’t really decreased the time consumers spend watching TV. Rather, consumers are devoting more time to consume media across multiple platforms. Or, as Forbes stated, they are just becoming savvier in dividing their time between online and television.

For example, during the 2010 Oscars Live Broadcast, traffic on the Yahoo! Mobile site simultaneously increased 12 percent and content consumption was up 39 percent on the Yahoo! Front Page, while browsing was 125 percent higher on the news section.

What this means for Consumers: Advertisers are going to develop mobile video campaigns that integrate geo-targeting with local deals. Companies like Groupon and Living Social have set the bar by proving how there is value in localizing online promotion efforts by offering targeted, cross-generational deals. Expect an increase of geo-targeting ads with interactive video content that not only raise brand recognition, but also localize product recommendations.

What this means for Advertisers: New opportunities to connect with consumers, on the go, with deal-enticing mobile promotions. Advertisers will adapt traditional TV or Web video and creative content into pre-roll ad units for a broad range of mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Through mobile devices, advertisers will target audiences using a variety of criteria, such as type of mobile device, user geo-location and content category.