By Brad Smith
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Mobile advertising and marketing are starting to mature, with brands and agencies taking the new industry more seriously. That interest is shown in the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA’s) fourth annual mobile marketing awards program and in the evolution of the MMA’s global advertising guidelines, according to the association’s president, Laura Marriott.
This year’s awards program, which culminates Nov. 13 with the naming of the winners in 12 categories, drew a record 300+ nominations. The MMA and its panel of judges selected 90 regional finalists.
Marriott said the biggest surprise to her in this year’s submissions were the number of brands and agencies that submitted their campaigns. In years past, most submissions have come from the technology enablers. Marriott said the interest from the brands and agencies shows they are taking mobile advertising and marketing seriously.
“We’re out of the trial stages,” she said, “and are seeing a greater number of brands realize the value of the mobile channel. A lot of brands we’ve known have been testing and trialing and they’re seeing real successes.”
Marriott said the nominations also demonstrated that the mobile avenue is seen as part of a larger cross-media campaign and not as a standalone effort. Another trend is that mobile campaigns, which have targeted the youth market in the past, are reaching out to other demographics. She cited Cellfire’s mobile grocery coupon campaign with Kroger stores, which targets mothers.
The MMA also updated its Mobile Advertising Guidelines, originally published in April. The updates included recommendations on automatic resizing of mobile Web banner ads, revisions on the use of MMS, and guidelines for mobile video and TV.