MMA launches South Africa Council

“The MMA considers local programmes such as this to be fundamental to maintaining mobile marketing momentum in regional markets; establishing a range of diverse initiatives that will help grow the mobile opportunity for everyone involved,” said Laura Marriott, MMA president.

The 16 South Africa Local Council founding member companies are:

• AdMob
  
• Brandsh Media
  
• Capital Supreme t/a Multimedia Solutions
  
• Celerity Systems t/a BulkSMS.com
  
• Cellsmart Technologies
  
• Clickatell
  
• Google
  
• GroupM
  
• Habari Media
  
• Microsoft (MSN and Windows Live)
  
• Mobiclicks
  
• OgilvyOne Worldwide
  
• One Digital Media
  
• RingCo
  
• SilverstoneCIS
  
• Vodacom

The council will initially be chaired by Rick Joubert, Vodacom's head of mobile advertising.

Priorities

The founding members have agreed that the immediate priorities and initiatives in SA are as follows:

• Ensuring implementation of existing MMA creative and technical standards and recommending adaptation for local market conditions where appropriate
  
• Measurement/tracking: including the publisher landscape, quantifying available inventory volume and value, tracking brand and category investment
  
• Escalation in the evangelism and promotion of mobile as an important marketing medium for SA brand managers and advertising agencies

According to the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA), the mobile channel now represents almost 50% of all spend on direct marketing in South Africa, and with over 35 million mobile subscribers - five million more than television subscribers - the region represents a clear opportunity for the mobile marketing industry.

“My experiences at Vodacom have firmly convinced me that mobile is a medium to rival traditional media. South Africa has seen a lot of innovation in the field of mobile marketing, and as an active participant in the new local MMA Council I look forward to helping the industry to thrive,” commented Joubert.

For information on how to participate in the Local Council in South Africa, contact the MMA membership team at . For more on the MMA, go to www.mmaglobal.com.