Consumers are evolving faster than brands, say mobile marketing experts

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today announced the complete speaker line-up and agenda for the upcoming MMA Forum Singapore. With the overall focus being on consumer centric engagement, the Forum will host leading global brands and marketers at the Grand Hyatt, Singapore from May 3 to 5, 2011.

“Over the last three years, our core theme has moved from technology to brand and now to consumer centric engagement. Consumers today are better informed and have more product/service options available to them than ever before. Successful marketing is then all about coming up with an interesting idea and establishing a connection with your audience via a medium that is most suitable to them. Mobile presents a unique opportunity in it’s always on, always available nature, making it an ideal medium for reaching out to today’s dynamic consumer set. Sharing local, regional and global insights on creating valuable consumer experiences is at the heart of this year’s agenda and we have an outstanding speaker line-up including brands and thought-leaders from across the globe,” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific Limited.

Some of the keynote sessions of the Forum cover the new rules of engagement with mobile consumers; global insights on successful mobile advertising; impact of consumer behaviour on mCommerce; permission-based engagement; creating connections through mobile; and accelerating through the purchase funnel with mobile advertising. The Forum also includes presentations and panel discussions on mobile social media, mobile metrics, consumer behaviour, mobile applications, location-based advertising, eCommerce in the social and mobile media age, mobile interactive entertainment, among others.

Here is what some of the keynote speakers at the Forum have to say about their expectations from the upcoming event:

“A brand is like a rock star. A lot of people are attracted to it and it seems very famous. But all this while, the brand and the rock star, have both been trying to reach out and appeal to each and every person in the crowd. The need to please everyone is immense. People today are busier than previous generations. They are constantly conversing with others, interpreting their favourite icons and shaping their own perceptions. Brands recognize the need to participate in this conversation and this is where mobiles become a crucial part of their outreach program. The mobile is a personal product and consumers guard this space fiercely. The MMA is a fantastic forum, for industry experts to work together, in enhancing consumer experiences. This year, I am hoping to see some examples wherein brands have managed to tread the fine line between engagement and intrusion. For the first time in the history of advertising, consumers seem to be ahead of brands. It will be interesting to see how the rock stars cope with this audience,” Aditya Save, Head Media, Marico India Limited.

“The mobile advertising market is seeing tremendous growth across the globe with the Asia Pacific region taking the lead. A key factor driving this trend is the increasing penetration of high-quality smartphone devices the world over. As consumers continue to be fascinated by the latest mobile technologies, we see a greater acceptance of new formats and categories of mobile content. Marketers today have the ability to run sophisticated, targeted campaigns and accurately measure their success to justify return on investment. All of this has only been possible through a keen understanding of the consumer set and their mobile behaviour. We at InMobi share regular updates on consumer insights from our network data for the industry’s consumption. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other global industry players at the upcoming MMA Forum as well as share some very exciting observations of our own!” Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO, InMobi.

“At Unilever, we are very excited about the mobile opportunity. We have seen success with a range of mobile campaigns across some countries and some brands. We are now expanding our presence in this space aggressively and want to cover more brands in more countries. The power in the marketplace is literally in the consumers’ hands when it comes to mobiles. Success will be all about interesting ideas, presented in a compelling manner. The key is to entertain and engage, and mobile marketing requires a different type of creativity and execution. As we continue to push ourselves in the new media space, platforms like the MMA Forum provide a unique opportunity to gain further insight into an increasingly diverse and complex global mobile marketplace. I am looking forward to gaining some critical inputs and interesting perspectives that will give us an edge in our future initiatives,” Rahul Welde, Vice President - Media, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Turkey - Unilever.

"We're excited about the MMA Forum in Singapore this year and its underlying theme of 'consumer-centric engagement'. Through the mobile channel, the very real opportunity exists for more frequent, personal and dynamic on-going engagement with users that fosters and drives action. The Singapore Forum is the one place where all members of the ecosystem can come together to learn about how to best harness this medium while better understanding and respecting the user's privacy,” Thomas Labarthe, Vice President, Mobile Advertising, Alcatel-Lucent.

“Mobile marketing and advertising nearly doubled in 2009 when the world economy declined and most other ad formats saw big declines. Mobile marketing and advertising nearly doubled again in 2010 when the world advertising industry was recovering and seeing modest growth rates in some other areas. Now for 2011 the ad industry is reporting an 'increasing' interest in mobile advertising and marketing. We are witnessing a third consecutive year of dramatic growth. The reasons for mobile growth are that mobile is outperforming all other advertising and marketing methods, by a large margin. This in turn gives a powerful incentive for the creative talents to bring ever more compelling offerings via mobile. This is the year to be in mobile advertising and marketing, and the MMA Forum is the place to see the best of the best, as well as meet the thought-leaders,” Tomi T Ahonen, Author and Consultant, latest book “The Insider's Guide to Mobile.”

For the latest updates on the Forum, please visit: Mobile Marketing Association (Asia Pacific) or Mobile Marketing Association on Facebook; @MobileMktgForum or @MMA_APAC on Twitter; and MMA on LinkedIn. To download the event brochure, access the full agenda and find out about registration, go to http://www.mobilemarketingforum.com/singapore2011.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association representing all players in the mobile marketing value chain. With more than 700 member companies, the MMA is an action-oriented organization with global focus, regional actions and local relevance. The MMA’s primary focus is to establish mobile as an indispensable part of the marketing mix. The MMA works to promote, educate, measure, guide and protect the mobile marketing industry worldwide. The MMA’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.