Global Industry Leaders to Converge in Singapore to Outline Future of Mobile Marketing in Asia

Singapore (April 08, 2009) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) announced today that the industry's premier international event, Mobile Marketing Forum (MMF), will be held in Singapore for the first time later this month. Organized by MMA, co-organised by Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) and supported by Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore, the forum will bring together the entire mobile marketing ecosystem to discuss developments and best practices in the industry from April 28 to 29, 2009, at Suntec City Convention Centre.

"After a successful run in cities like San Diego and Sao Paulo, we're excited about bringing MMF to Singapore. This will be our flagship event in Asia and gives us an opportunity to focus on the nascent opportunities in this dynamic market. As an industry insider, I can see all eyes clearly on Asia, both for the creation of innovative ideas and technologies and for consumer usage. As adoption grows, privacy issues come to the fore, and there is a tangible need for industry guidelines and frameworks. With our large base of members and close relations with regulators in individual markets, this is the role MMA hopes to play in this region," said Mike Wehrs, CEO and President, Mobile Marketing Association.

Built around a central theme, "The Future of Mobile Marketing in Asia", the two-day event will connect regulators, brands, agencies, content aggregators, carriers, device manufacturers, technology developers and other major players in the mobile marketing industry. The event also includes a special focus on Visual Code to highlight ongoing technology developments with barcodes, zap codes, QR and similar interactive modes of content capture.

Ken Chua, Chairman of Wireless Chapter, SiTF, said, "SiTF and MMA objectives are very much complementary and aligned as both associations focus on evangelizing industry ecosystems space – SiTF in the wireless and visual code domain and MMA in its mobile marketing space. We are very excited to be part of the MMF event as the focus on Visual Code sets further synergy in promoting visual code technology and adoption of visual codes to create a vibrant mobile environment in Singapore."

"A mobile phone is something you don't leave home without. In Asia, this device has become a channel for all forms of communication, services and entertainment. Mobile marketing is definitely the next big thing for this region and a growing part of company's advertising budgets," commented Mr. Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association, Asia Pacific. "In fact, traditional media like billboards on the street now give you the option to interact with the brand via mobile. MMF will address these and other trends in mobile marketing with a view of highlighting considerations for various industry stakeholders."

MMF boasts a stellar list of speakers from around the world sharing best practices and addressing key opportunities for mobile marketing in 2009:
– Andreas Vogiatzakis: Managing Director, Malaysia, Omnicom Media Group
– Mansoor Siddiqi: Director of Integrated Marketing, Coca-Cola India
– Gavin Marco: Mobile Marketing Leader, Proctor and Gamble
– Matthias Kunze: Managing Director, Yahoo! Mobile, APAC
– Dilip Mistry: Head of Mobile Services, Microsoft Asia
– Danilo J Mojica II: Head Wireless consumer Division, Smart Communications Inc
– Melis Turkmen: Mobile Marketing & Advertising Unit Head, Turkcell
– Russell Buckley: Vice president of Global Alliances, Admob
– Sandy Agarwal: Director, Southeast Asia & Pacific, Nokia Interactive Advertising

Apart from the high profile speakers, the agenda is packed with case studies on creative and successful mobile marketing campaigns. In addition, a number of panel discussions will provide the opportunity for attendees to listen first hand to lively debates and discussions on topics such as:
– Accelerating the adoption of mobile advertising
– Opportunities for partnerships with operators
– An agency's perspective on mobile marketing
– Integrated marketing

MMF has gathered the industry support of the following sponsors:
– Comverse
– Velti
– I New Communications Solutions

Interested applicants can either register online at www.mobilemarketingforum.com, or call +65 6514 3180 or email forum@mmaglobal.com. MMA members gain access to two full days for S$1,045.00 per person while non-members will pay S$1,595.00. For more details, please download the event brochure from http://mobilemarketingforum.com/?q=node/717 or refer to www.mobilemarketingforum.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 use of the mobile channel. It has more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, including 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 American (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.

About SiTF
The Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) is Singapore's premier infocomm industry association. It brings together almost 400 corporate members from MNCs and local companies. The SiTF assists its members in business development, market intelligence, overseas trade missions, networking and alliances. SiTF has eight chapters under its wing – Best Sourcing, Digital Media, eGovernment, eLearning, Singapore Enterprise, Security & Governance, Service Oriented Architecture and Wireless. SiTF also owns and manages the Infocomm Singapore Centre (ISC) in Shanghai and has a joint venture with Hangzhou e-Software Park (HZESP) to set up the solution centre in Hangzhou, China, to give local infocomm companies a foothold into the China market. For more information on SiTF, please visit www.sitf.org.sg.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Sonya Madeira-Stamp
  Rice Communications on behalf of MMA
  +65 9450 1090
  Sonya.madeira@ricecomms.com

  Joan Khor
  Rice Communications on behalf of MMA
  +65 9187 0990
  joan.khor@ricecomms.com

  Jeff Tan
  Rice Communications on behalf of MMA
  +65 9876 6463
  Jeff.tan@ricecomms.com