December 11, 2007
Mobile Marketing Association Releases U.S. Consumer Best Practices for Cross-Carrier Mobile Marketing Services
Rules include new Free-To-End-User )FTEU) messaging guidelines
Denver, CO – Dec. 11, 2007 — The Mobile Marketing Association)MMA), )www.mmaglobal.com), which represents more than 500 member companies worldwide, today released the latest edition of its Consumer Best Practices )CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services in the United States. Updated twice annually, the CBP have become the baseline set of rules for cross carrier mobile content services in the United States.
The guidelines are produced by the MMA’s CBP Committee, whose mission is to develop and continually update a cross-carrier code of conduct that balances consumer protection with the revenue opportunities. The guidelines provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the ecosystem to follow for cross carrier messaging, interactive voice response )IVR) and mobile web services in the United States.
"The success of a mobile marketing campaign is measured largely by the user experience,” said Chris Black, director of Mobile Marketing at AT&T Mobility and Co-Chair of the CBP Committee. "By representing a cross-section of carriers, technology companies, brands, media companies and consumer advocates, the CBP Committee is uniquely qualified to provide the level of timely, hands-on guidance that the industry needs as the mobile channel grows.”
Highlights of the December 2007 CBP Guidelines include guidelines for:
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Free-to-end-user )FTEU) guidelines for messaging services
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Sweepstakes and contests
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Mobile Web and Interactive Voice Response )IVR) opt-in and billing modifications
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Affiliate marketing
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Participation TV
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Word-of-mouth verification
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New Code of Conduct reference )as developed by MMA Privacy and Preference Committee)
"The CBP have been instrumental in creating a play book for cross carrier services in the United States,” said Laura Marriott, president of the MMA and Co-Chair of the CBP Committee. "We applaud the efforts of all in our industry in creating a model which will be replicated in markets around the globe.”
The new guidelines also reflect contributions from new CBP sub-committees, including IVR, Marketing to Children, Participation TV and Mobile Web. The sub-committees were formed to help facilitate the rapid development of the guidelines to ensure the MMA stays at the forefront of industry development and self-regulation.
The MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines Committee is comprised of the following member companies: Alltel Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Bango, Chapell & Associates, denuo Group )a Publicis Company), Jamster, Lavalife Mobile, mBlox, Inc., MMA, MTV Networks, MX Telecom, NeuStar, Inc., Qmobile, Inc., SinglePoint, Sprint Nextel, Sybase 365, Telescope, Teligence, The Walt Disney Company, T-Mobile USA, VeriSign, Inc. and Verizon Wireless.
The guidelines can be downloaded at www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf
The MMA will host its annual CBP Industry Forum in Denver on January 16, 2008. The Forum provides the opportunity for participants to comment and input into the guidelines and best practices for the mobile marketing industry in the United States. Information can be found at www.mmaglobal.com
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 mobile channel for use by brands and content providers. The 500+ global member companies, representing over forty 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 has recently formed the Europe Middle East & Africa )EMEA) and Asia Pacific )APAC) divisions. The Latin American )LATAM) division will be launched in Q1-08. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Valerie Christopherson or
Kirsten Woodard
Global Results Comm. )GRC)
+1 949 608 0276
