The Business Impact Index is the world’s only ranking of the marketing industry’s top agencies, marketers, brands and technology providers delivering the highest level of business impact through mobile-first campaigns.

“As demands placed on brands are higher than ever, it is critical that marketers and their agencies understand the true impact campaigns have against marketing objectives, both on an individual basis as well as their cumulative efforts,” says Sheryl Daija, Chief Strategy Officer, MMA. “The SMARTIES Business Impact Index forces focus on what ultimately matters, overall business growth. With this expansion to the SMARTIES program, which already identifies and recognizes the most innovative mobile campaigns, the Index now benchmarks what success looks like and the SMARTIES Case Study Hub gives our membership the most comprehensive body of leading work that inspires, guides and informs future advances in mobile marketing.”

The methodology for the MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index was developed in close collaboration with WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness. The rankings leverage the finalist and winner data from the previous year’s (in this case 2017) SMARTIES Awards programs across the globe using a proprietary methodology to determine the business impact, assigning points to campaigns and the organizations.

“We were happy to partner with the MMA and lend our expertise to produce a benchmark and guidance to the industry for what matters in the emerging mobile marketing space,” says David Tiltman, Head of Content at WARC. “The MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index will show what work is making the most impact, which agencies are leading the pack and driving change, and what success in mobile looks like.”

The 2018 SMARTIES Awards is now open to accept entries. For more information or to submit work for consideration, visit http://www.mmaglobal.com/smarties2018.

The post First Look: Mobile Marketing Association Reveals the Shortlists for the Global and North America SMARTIES Business Impact Index appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

By defining and developing the organizational marketing capabilities and best practices (e.g., structures, processes, market intelligence, etc.) MOSTT intends to lead CMOs in accelerating marketing performance and business growth through best in class organizational design transformation. MOSTT is the second Think Tank developed by the MMA and follows the successful creation of the Marketing Attribution Think Tank (MATT), launched at the same time last year.

According to a provided release, the first phase of the MOSTT initiative is being led by a group of prominent academic researchers and industry consultants from The Scheller College of Business (Georgia Tech), The Terry College of Business (University of Georgia) and The Kelley School of Business (Indiana University). This phase includes interviews conducted with upwards of 100 CMOs and other marketing professionals and focuses on the organizations’ changes induced by analytics, real-time programming and growth in social networks as well as mobile adoption and technology.

“There have not been any major studies on marketing organizational design since mobile penetration has transformed the way brands engage with their consumers,” said Greg Stuart, CEO, MMA. “The global marketers on the MMA Board unequivocally believe that the way organizations are currently structured is one the greatest impediments to nimbly adopting emerging and transformational technologies, which create competitive advantage. Other than with our attribution initiative, I have not seen a project with such universal interest from the marketplace.”

The post Mobile Marketing Association Launches New Think Tank appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The full report, which is available here, is based on interviews with over 300 senior marketers. All told, the discussions reveal that the vast majority (80%) agree that consumer usage of mobile devices has significantly increased the volume of digital engagement data at their disposal.

For example:

• Two-thirds admitted that they’re not confident they’ve identified the most important signals in their customers’ journey
• Over six in 10 (61%) still aren’t fully confident in their ability to find new profitable customers
• 58% are not fully confident in their re-engagement efforts to alleviate customer churn
• Over 50% aren’t confident in their ability to acquire new customers and re-engage lost ones.

“The industry talks constantly about the flood of new data generated by digital engagement, and this is especially the case with mobile, given how indispensable smartphones are today,” said Bill Lonergan, CEO of RadiumOne. “But the plain truth is that most marketers simply aren’t confident in their ability to capture and utilize data effectively. As a result, we must help them in three key areas: identifying the right consumer signals of interest and intent, building accurate insights and predictions and activating these to maximize return on marketing investment.”

The post RadiumOne and Mobile Marketing Association Find ‘Untapped Opportunities’ for Marketers in Mobile appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

A recent survey released from the Mobile Marketing Association shows that 75 percent of marketers say they will adopt a multi-touch attribution (MTA) solution by 2019.

However, the report summary notes, the available solutions are not in-line with their performance needs.

The survey, which serves as a baseline of marketers’ intentions, familiarity and experiences with MTA solutions, showed that marketers believe that MTA is potentially a powerful attribution and planning tool.

Marketers believe that, although MTA is now more focused on conversions and sales, in the future it will also help them with upper funnel metrics, with almost 80 percent of marketers reporting that MTA will be the solution providing clarity for both budgeting and agile marketing efforts.

However, despite the promise today’s solutions might offer, marketers are still not confident in today’s vendor offerings, the MMA says. Marketers’ responses indicate there are several areas the vendor community should attempt to address:

• Complex offerings need more transparency: Only one out of four marketers who currently use MTA solutions say they are familiar enough with MTA approaches and methodologies.
• Costs and ROI must be in balance: Marketers need to be convinced that net impact will be positive. While more than half of marketers using MTA solutions believe it drives incremental results, only 40 percent of marketers report that they are convinced that the cost of MTA covers the benefits.

For the marketers who have yet to test MTA solutions, the complexity of the offerings combined with their lack of resources of are the main adoption challenges, the press release notes.

“Brands admit that they need to deepen their teams’ knowledge on attribution solutions, but the black-box approach is leading to hesitation and a lack of trust,” explains Greg Stuart, CEO of the MMA. “The promise of what MTA could deliver to marketers is the reason why we are empowering brands with the tools they need to find the right partner for the right program that meets their brands’ needs. We want to help MTA solution providers build this really important market.”

The post MMA Finds That More Than 75 Percent of Marketers Share This Goal appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The customer Value Management specialists at Business Logic Systems have announced their membership of the Mobile Marketing Association in South Africa.

BLS, in its announcement, called itself an established data-driven marketing and loyalty program technology enabler and experienced provider of Customer Value Management services.

“The combination enables a diverse range of businesses to build an effective insight-led, data-driven approach to delivering incremental value from their existing customers using the mobile device as the primary medium,” last week’s press release explains.

“I am delighted to have BLS as members of the MMA,” says Chairman of the South African MMA and Founder of Digital Solutions Group, Yaron Assabi. “They provide crucial technology enablers to transform customer data into actionable insight, enabling clever promotions, mobile advertising, campaigns & loyalty offers. DSG uses this data-driven approach to increase the effectiveness of the omni-channel marketing campaigns that we design for our customers.”

The post MMA News: Business Logic Systems Joins Mobile Marketing Association appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Supporting MMA’s “marketer-first mission,” Denise Karkos, Chief Marketing Officer of TD Ameritrade, assumes the role as the 2016 jury president, a statement provided to MMW confirms.

The MMA also added a new mobile audio awards category to the award program.

The 2016 jury, comprised of 28 senior brand and agency professionals, have been selected for their achievements, are respected for their industry leadership, and are trusted to judge with fairness and integrity as they select the world’s leading mobile marketing campaigns. The full jury list below.

“I’m honored to have been selected as Jury President for the 2016 MMA Global Smarties Awards,” Karkos says. “Given the importance of mobile marketing to our organization, I look forward to being inspired by best-in-class work that’s raising the bar in mobile. Being the first CMO selected as Jury President, I hope to bring a new perspective to the selection process, grounded in innovative work that not only pushes the boundaries of mobile, but truly helps brands impact their metrics and achieve their business objectives.”

With more than 1,700 submissions from 30 plus countries received last year, the Global Smarties is the only worldwide mobile marketing awards program.

“We are incredibly excited to have Denise Karkos head the impressive 2016 jury, which will further illuminate the marketer’s perspective on how brands are pushing the boundaries on mobile marketing in ways that are transforming both their business and consumer engagement,” said Sheryl Daija, chief strategy officer of the MMA. “As mobile continues to challenge the marketing status quo, it is critical to have a discerning group of judges who demand the highest standards and are focused equally on creativity and results.”

http://www.mmaglobal.com/smarties/submit. For a complete list of the Global Smarties submission categories, and the regional and country award programs, click here.

The post MMA Announces ‘Powerhouse’ 2016 Global Smarties Jury appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Presented by Swrve and the MMA, the webinar and its presenters look forward to 2016 and “discuss the extent to which new mobile models herald ‘the end of marketing’ (don’t worry – you’re not out of a job).”

We’ll look at five predictions for the coming year in mobile, from the rise in ‘mobile moments’ to new models in data sharing. And we’ll discuss how best to position your business to take advantage of them.

Want to learn more or register? Click here.

The post The Top 5 Mobile Predictions for 2016. Is the END of Marketing Near? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

As advertisers continue to push for the development of both format and context – users and advertisers alike will benefit from advertising that connects people to products in ways that are meaningful and additive to the experiences today’s Internet offers.

Presenters from the MMA’s Mobile Native Advertising Committee will share findings from multiple studies and draw from case studies on what’s working and what’s not – essential for any marketer looking to improve ROI on their investments in this area.

Want to know more? It’s not to0o late to register. To reserve your spot, click here.

The post Thursday Webinar: MMA Tackles Mobile Native Advertising appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

According to details shared by the MMA, the board will be comprised of 12 industry veterans across the tech, marketing, and advertising landscape.

D Shivakumar, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo India, will chair the board, we have learned.

“The Indian market is brimming with great opportunities for Mobile media and marketing,” Shivakumar says.

“The MMA India Board of Directors brings together some of the best practitioners and minds in marketing, advertising and media, and our collective experience and expertise will hopefully propel the market to quickly adopt mobile marketing as a mainstream medium,” he added in this week’s statement. “Our board members have identified key areas where our immediate focus in needed. These initiatives will facilitate sharing insights, create industry benchmarks and guidelines that will help marketers leverage mobile as core to their business and marketing strategies.”

The post Mobile Marketing Association Establishes First MMA India Board of Directors appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“As a retrospective of this year’s best work and most notable mobile strategies, the report reveals a clear and persistent focus by mobile marketers on deepening human relationships and leveraging the best that mobile has to offer to do so,” according to a statement provided by the MMA.

Every year, the MMA analyzes the winning rosters in two coveted awards programs to identify emerging mobile marketing trends.

“In our analysis of this year’s winning campaigns from the MMA Smarties Global Awards and Cannes Mobile Lions, there was a consistent trend of marketers using mobile to spark real, human connections — brands using the directness of the mobile channel to demonstrate a deep commitment to their consumer relationships,” said Sheryl Daija, Chief Strategy Officer, MMA. “From something as powerful as driving social philanthropy to as logical (yet meaningful) as ensuring the mobile utility is an extension of a consumer’s life, we saw a real follow-through on values across the industry’s very best work.”

In sum, successful tactics now include enabling two-way conversations, to allow for customization and personalization — as well as keeping a strong focus on social tools.

“In addition to the marketing trends indicated across this year’s winners, the report shares observations on the state of innovation, in general,” notes the announcement. “Virtual and Augmented Reality, the Internet of Things, and the more creative use of Vines and micro-video within storytelling on the platform are other emerging trends of note.”

To download the full report from the MMA, click here.

The post Relationships Count: MMA Trends Report Cites ‘Human Connection and Purpose Driven Strategies’ appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.