BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS

New MMA Chief Looks to Reduce Mobile Friction
Monday, January 12, 2009

After months of mystery, the Mobile Marketing Association chose a successor to outgoing president and CEO Laura Marriott. Mike Wehrs, former VP of industry affairs and evangelism at Nuance Communications, will lead the trade association for mobile content, marketing and advertising. Wehr led mobile strategy for Nuance and has served on the board of directors and executive committees for the wireless association, CTIA, the Open Mobile Alliance and dotMobi Advisory Group.

Wehrs takes leadership of the MMA at a time of great uncertainty about the level of investment marketers are willing to make in mobile. In facing tough ad budgets and media company cuts, Wehrs tells min, “The mobile channel has some benefits that tend to transcend the economy in many ways but not all. The attractiveness is due to the fact that the conversion rate is much higher in the mobile channel than it is when marketing to other channels.” On the other hand, he recognizes that deploying mobile content and ad programs remains challenging because of technical complexity and a cluttered value chain. “What doesn’t remain attractive is the friction component—how much technical work and manpower is going to be involved in deploying a mobile campaign in the mobile networks. That is generally the area of focus in the MMA now, the reduction of that friction component identifying more of the areas that are inhibitors of mass adoption of mobile marketing channels.”

The MMA includes in its membership the mobile network carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T as well as the mobile and ad agency segments, publishers and technical enablers. The organization not only releases case studies and white papers but guidelines for best marketing and content publishing practices on mobile. Unlike other digital associations before it, the MMA succeeded early in establishing guidelines that most members of the value chain adopted and enforce. Best practices for mobile SMS alert subscriptions and the proper distribution of premium content over mobile were adopted by the major carriers, which control the mobile eco-system in a way that ISPs do not on the Web. In the U.S. market, for instance, the MMA and the carriers have been credited with keeping a tight rein on when and how marketers can use SMS messaging to contact consumers.

Still, the big question for mobile marketing in the coming year is whether media buyers see the platform as an experimental channel they can ill afford right now. 

The MMA boasts numerous magazine content providers among its members, including Condé Nast, AdweekMedia, Discovery Communications, ESPN, Playboy and the Walt Disney Company. Wehrs says that interest among content providers is especially high in recent months. The MMA will continue its outreach internationally. The Latin American offices and chapter are up and running, and Wehrs says the MMA will be looking to expand into regional chapters in Eastern Europe and Africa.


If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com


More Breaking News & Views

Breaking News & Views Archives

COMMENTS
1.
I found something that looks like a great new tool, an email system for MLM's at http://www.wrapmaillite.com.

I'd love to hear if anyone have used it or heard anything (but it looks like it became available only last week or so).

Thanks for any input.
Posted by Lisa Gibbons on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 @ 01:25 PM

Post a Comment

Name:
Email:
Comments:

Please enter the letters or numbers you see in the image.
Search Jobs
Media Jobs
min Social Networks

Join us on Linkedin
Follow us on Linkedin

White Papers
Get even smarter -- download a white paper today.

Featured White Papers:
All Content is Now Evergreen
By nstein


Making the Move: Tips on How to Create Digitally-Optimized Magazines
By Nxtbook Media Design



... more Whitepapers
min Contests

min contests




Enter the Smithsonian Contest with a chance to win a $500 AMEX Gift card plus. Enter online or download pdf.

To sponsor a min contest in 2010, contact Erica Gottlieb at egottlieb@accessintel.com.

 Reserve your contest in min

min Press

State of Digital MediaThe State of Digital Media

 View Details
                           

Twitter Best Practices for Media CompaniesTwitter Best Practices for Media Companies

 View Details
                           

                                    Internet Sales            Guidebook

 View Details

All min Press

Inside min This Week
Events Calendar

March 12, 2010
min's Sales Executive of the Year Awards Late Deadline
Learn More

March 12, 2010
min's Most Engaged Media Brands Late Deadline
Learn More

March 12, 2010
2010 Jesse H. Neal Awards
Learn More

All Events


min
Free Eletters — Sign up Now