Industry comes of age with common consumer centric message on mobile marketing: MMA

After two days of intense discussion, involving some of the world’s largest brands, agencies and publishers, day two of the Mobile Marketing Association Forum Singapore (MMAF) ended on a high note.

The two day forum brought together over 260 delegates and speakers from different parts of the mobile marketing and advertising industry, from across the region and all over the world, including representatives from companies like Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Universal Music, Marico, Google, Microsoft Advertising, Standard Chartered and others. Over two days at the Grand Hyatt, these industry luminaries made connections, shared knowledge, considered strategies and otherwise debated, and discussed the direction for the industry for the future.

"The entire industry is now speaking the same language: consumers are not subscribers, or profiles, or devices,” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association, Asia Pacific. “This new medium is helping build personal relationships with the consumer by establishing emotional connections. It is time for the industry to go from competing amongst ourselves to partnering to compliment other media.”

This year’s MMAF had its focus squarely on the consumer, and some themes emerged during the panel sessions, presentations and keynote addresses. Many speakers shared that effective advertising had to be engaging for the consumer, to capture the imaginations and emotions of consumers for the best effect. The other theme that emerged was the strong successes displayed by permission marketing campaigns throughout the region.

This year’s shout out featured agencies in place of last year’s ad network shoot out. Four agencies (QAIS Consulting, Possible Worldwide, Starcom MediaVest and Euro RSCG) took part in the agency shout-out, where each agency had five minutes to present how they are gearing up to take on mobile advertising and marketing and helping their clients ( brands) to explore the medium of the future.

The Pitch, an on-stage shootout where innovative young start ups had the opportunity to show off their new technology within six minutes using only their product demos, no presentations and no videos, was a highlight of the Forum this year. Six companies took part this year, with a range of different products focused on location-based services, mapping, electronic billing, mobile apps and remote camera viewing. For the audience, this was a glimpse into the future, a chance to be exposed to exciting new products in the ever innovating mobile marketing and advertising industry

The day ended with the Mobile Marketing and Advertising Potential panel which saw industry leaders from around the world talking about the industry from a top-down view, exploring potential future directions, seeking and committing to the growth of the industry

The event was also a great success online with live Twitter posts throughout the two-day event. Updates can be found at #MMAF2011.

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.