Buenos Aires, April 28, 2011 - The MMA (Mobile Marketing Association)  (www.mmaglobal.com) today announced the launch of its Argentina Local Council with an aim to promote, educate, protect, measure and guide the mobile marketing industry in the country. The Local Council brings together the key stakeholders from the entire mobile ecosystem, including carriers, application developers, brands, media companies, agencies and other influencers, to drive a range of programs aimed at creating a professional and sustainable mobile marketing industry in Argentina. According to Jesper Rhode, Chairman MMA Latin America, “the launch of the Argentina Local Council is very important because that demonstrates and reinforces that the mobile industry in the Latin America region is growing quickly. Companies from the mobile ecosystem are now aware of the importance of the mobile industry’s development.”

 

As part of the launch, the Local Council’s Mobile Advertising Committee presented a media kit on mobile advertising in Argentina, approved by Personal Telecom and Movistar Argentina. The media kit consists of an overview of mobile display advertising, available formats, expected results, a list of properties in Argentina selling mobile inventory, and a list of vendors specialized in the creation of mobile advertising campaigns.   The media kit, available exclusively to members of the MMA, will be updated on an ongoing basis with information on mobile messaging and other emerging formats, and serves as practical, valid reference material for anyone interested in launching a mobile advertising campaign in Argentina.

 

The founding members of the MMA Argentina Local Council include representatives from BIG Evolution, The Coca-Cola Company, Ericsson, Mobext, Movistar, Personal Telecom, Syniverse, Terra, and Yahoo!, among others, and is headed by Chairman Matt Garlick, VP, Mobile at Vostu, who also sits on the MMA Regional Board of Directors to determine strategy and priorities for the MMA in the region. Attendees of the Local Council launch included representatives from the entire mobile marketing value chain, including Claro, L’Oreal, Carrefour, Procter & Gamble, AdsMovil, Wunderman, Nextel, MTV Networks, Disney, Microsoft, Publiquest, Santander Rio, Sony Ericsson, and two new members of the MMA, HUNT Mads and Grupo Clarin.

 

The main priorities for the Council in 2011 include the creation of credible market data on mobile marketing and mobile advertising in Argentina, placement of speakers and cases from Argentina within the MMA’s annual Forum event to be hosted in Sao Paulo in August, recruitment of new members in Argentina to join and actively participate in the MMA and the creation of networking and educational events for MMA members in Argentina. 

In the near term, in order to provide independent market data on mobile advertising in Argentina, the MMA is teaming up with Nielsen to perform industry studies on mobile advertising in Argentina, Mexico and Brasil, which will be released in June and available exclusively to MMA members. Further, the Local Council will offer an educational program, “Mobile Marketing Global Truths and Regional Relevance,” later this year. The development of this program has been underwritten and supported by The Coca-Cola Company, an MMA Premium Member. The goal of the program is to help develop and accelerate education programs in mobile marketing, with the intent to support the MMA’s roll out of mobile marketing and education certification throughout the world. 

While the mobile advertising industry globally, according to industry estimates, is worth around $1.5 billion globally, Argentina’s mobile advertising industry is nascent but ripe for explosive growth.   “With mobile phone penetration in Argentina surpassing 100% in 2010, explosive growth in smartphone sales, and mobile Internet adoption at 14% of total users, the Local Council is well positioned to stimulate the growth of the mobile marketing industry in Argentina through promotion and education while reducing friction by measuring, guiding and protecting the industry as a whole,” noted Matt Garlick.

 

 

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.

 

Lorena Radic

5411 4541 3839