The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the German Federal Association for the Digital Economy's mobile division, the BVDW Section Mobile, today announced the launch of MMA Germany as the next phase of their partnership.
MMA Germany has been established to further advance the mobile advertising and marketing industry in the country through local participation from industry stakeholders, as well as to drive the adoption of global standards, best practices and guidelines, as well as the further education of brands and agencies on the mobile opportunity.
The partnership with BVDW is said to offer members of both organizations a greater set of benefits from the increased range and depth of resources and market experience, as well as greater scope for future projects and events.
"Germany represents a major mobile market both in Europe and worldwide and as a result, it is an important area of focus for the MMA," said MMA President CEO Mike Wehrs. "The work that the MMA and BVDW Section Mobile have done so far in introducing and popularizing best practices and usage guidelines has been essential. The establishment of MMA Germany is the most recent example of the MMA creating Local Councils as a means to both support the growth of mobile marketing on a national basis and ensure delivery of benefits to members. We are now looking forward to working more closely with brands and agencies in Germany to make the path to mobile campaign implementation as easy and straightforward as possible."
Bringing together both existing MMA and BVDW Section Mobile members, the new council counts 44 founders and anticipates doubling this in the next 2 years. Members will benefit from association with both the MMA and BVDW at no extra fee; creating a vast network of industry contacts with which to explore market opportunities, share skills, research and knowledge and find new business openings.
Additionally BVDW Section Mobile members will have an accelerated opportunity to upgrade their membership to the regional or global level providing access to MMA's global scope for those companies seeking that level of leadership in the industry.
One of the first such educational and networking opportunities will be this year's only European Mobile Marketing Forum, which opens today. Held in Berlin as a sign of the importance of the German market to the MMA, the event brings together 12 of the world's leading brand names, as well as agencies, operators, content providers and entertainment and media companies to share new ideas and discuss real world mobile marketing.
The German Local Council represents the MMA's second phase of growth in Germany after establishing a strategic partnership with BVDW Section Mobile in April 2007, and further cements the already close working relationship; building on the federal association's success in introducing and implementing MMA guidelines, and signaling more direct MMA involvement in the German mobile marketing industry.
"As we're seeing from the growing brand adoption of the mobile channel and the response rates being achieved, the climate and conditions are now right for German mobile marketing and advertising efforts to take off," said MMA Germany and BVDW Section Mobile Chairman Mark Wächter. "The industry collaboration and innovation that the MMA's work in Germany engenders will help to move the market on, building its size and potential to benefit the entire ecosystem."