Alcatel-Lucent Joins Board while Isobar is Given Honorary Member Status; Vibes Executive Named Vice Chair

New York, London, UK, Singapore & Sao Paulo – May 20, 2010 – The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today announced that Alcatel-Lucent and Isobar, a global full-service digital communications agency, are new members of its North America Board of Directors. The MMA also announced that Jack Philbin, co-founder and president of Vibes Media, one of the United States’ premier experts on mobile marketing, is now Vice Chair of the MMA North America Board of Directors Executive Committee.

Alcatel-Lucent receives their board seat as part of the MMA Premier Membership program while  Isobar joins as an honorary member.  Both join the recently named BestBuy, Polo Ralph Lauren and OMD Ignition as board members for the 2009-2010 term. The new board appointments are:

• Lisa Ciangiulli, Director of Marketing for Alcatel-Lucent Global Advertising Solutions, where she has been instrumental in the development and marketing of Optism™, Alcatel-Lucent's powerful permission-based mobile advertising solution. In this role, and throughout her career, Ciangiulli has spearheaded efforts to encourage cooperation between players across the ecosystem with the ultimate goal of enabling closer communication with the consumer.

• Gene Keenan, Vice President of Mobile Services at Isobar. Identified as one of the top 10 mobi thinkers by mobi magazine and a “Top 100 People to have lunch with” by Media magazine, Keenan is also the recipient of several MMA and other industry awards. Keenan, is also a former Vice Chairman of the MMA Board and Co-Chair of the MMA’s metrics committee and guided the creation, funding, and execution of the first marketing effectiveness study on behalf of the MMA.

In addition, Vice Chair of the MMA North America Board of Directors Executive Committee Jack Philbin brings years of MMA experience with him:

• Jack Philbin, Co-Founder and President of Vibes, who is now Vice Chair of the MMA North America Board of Directors Executive Committee after serving as a board. A member of the CTIA Wireless Internet Caucus, Philbin received the MMA’s “Outstanding Individual Achievement” award in 2005. Under Jack’s leadership, Vibes was ranked No. 92 on the 2007 “Inc. 500” list of fastest growing U.S. companies.

“Lisa, Gene and Jack have distinguished themselves as leaders and innovators in mobile marketing, making them a natural fit for leadership roles in the MMA,” said Michael Becker, managing director of North America for MMA. “I look forward to working with them to keep the MMA at the forefront of the mobile marketing revolution in North America.”

"My responsibility in leading a mobile marketing strategy that bridges the relationship gaps between advertisers, mobile operators and consumers, has made me sensitive to the requirements of different stakeholders, particularly consumers, and the need for mobile marketing approaches that are effective and empowering," notes Lisa Ciangiulli, Director of Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent Global Advertising Solutions. "By working together, we can improve how we harness consumers' permission and preferences to deliver marketing messages they genuinely appreciate, thus providing benefit to us all."

“Speaking on behalf of everyone at Isobar, we are delighted to be included in this outstanding leadership group that is doing so much to help chart the future of marketing in the mobile channel,” said Keenan. “At Isobar, we are passionate about helping brands explore new technologies as a way to create opportunities for engagement with an increasingly mobile consumer audience. We look forward to contributing to this important dialog and sharing the insights and experience from Isobar’s community of mobile experts and leading brands.”

“Being elected to vice chair of the MMA North America Board of Directors Executive Committee is a great opportunity to continue to engage and collaborate with the leaders in mobile marketing,” said Philbin. “Mobile is at the forefront of a revolution in marketing that reaches consumers in an immediate, relevant and meaningful way. I’m honored work with the other MMA members to help shape the future of this quickly evolving marketplace.”

In February 2010, the MMA restructured to create a global organization operating within four regions: Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and North America (NA). This reorganization better enables the MMA to address each region’s unique needs, issues and opportunities while growing its global membership, which currently includes more than 700 companies and other organizations worldwide.

The MMA’s current North American Board of Directors is:

North American Executive Committee

• Chair: Maria Mandel, Executive Director of Digital Innovation, Ogilvy Interactive
• Vice Chair: Jack Philbin, Co-Founder and President of Vibes
• Treasurer: Louis Gump, VP Mobile, CNN
• Secretary: Paul Palmieri, President & CEO, Millennial Media
• Chair Emeritus: Tom Daly, Group Manager, Strategy & Planning, The Coca-Cola Company
• MMA: Michael Becker, North America Managing Director

North America Board of Directors

• Anthony Romano, Vice President, Interactive Media, Polo Ralph Lauren
• Cindy Sullivan, Product & Project Management, Sprint-Nextel
• David Katz, Vice President, Mobile Advertising and Publisher Services, Yahoo!
• Diana Pouliot, Director, Mobile Advertising, Google
• Gene Keenan, Vice President of Mobile Services, Isobar
• Greg McCastle, Senior Vice President, Advanced Ad Solutions, AT&T
• Jay Emmet, General Manager Open Market
• Jeff Minsky, Director, NEXT Emerging Media, OMD Ignition Factory
• Kanishka Agarwal, SVP Global Mobile Media & Marketing, The Nielsen Company
• Lisa Ciangiulli, Director of Marketing for Alcatel-Lucent Global Advertising Solutions
• Mario Ribera, Director, US Product Management, Microsoft
• Richard Williams, Executive Director, Digital Media Operations, Verizon
• Rob Lawson, Chief Marketing Officer, Brightkite
• Tiffany Gerhardt, Senior Manager Customer Insights, BestBuy
• Venetia Espinoza, Group Manager, Mobile Applications and Partner Programs, T-Mobile USA

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over 40 countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters, including North America (NA), Europe, Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit http://www.mmaglobal.com/. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Valerie Christopherson or Kate Mossbarger
Global Results Comm. (GRC)
P: +1 949 608 0276
E: [email protected]
E: [email protected]