Mobile Marketing Association Releases New Version of U.S. Consumer Best Practices for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services

NEW YORK, LONDON, SINGAPORE and SAO PAULO, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (www.mmaglobal.com) today released the latest version of its U.S. Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. The guidelines are the industry standard for cross-carrier mobile content services such as text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), shortcode programs, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile Web.

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Produced by the MMA's CBP Committee, the new, version 5.0 guidelines provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the U.S. ecosystem. The guidelines also serve as the benchmarks for the four largest U.S. wireless service providers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA – eliminating the need for brands, agencies and marketers to refer to four separate carrier playbooks.

Major updates and additions include:

• New guidelines for affiliate marketing for premium rate programs, with examples.
• New guidelines to ensure STOP and HELP keywords work in each program's native language
• Updated guidelines to ensure clarity for all members of the mobile marketing ecosystem

Version 5.0 also features a new format for faster navigation, using tiered sections such as General Guidelines, Standard Rate, Premium Rate and Free to End User Programs. The new format includes "MMA IDs," which make it easy to find related sections in previous versions.

"The MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines continue to provide the industry-standard reference that every member of the mobile marketing ecosystem turns to when they need definitive answers for ensuring consistency and protecting the consumer experience," said Kristine van Dillen, Director of Industry Initiatives and Partnerships for the MMA. "Through regular updates, the guidelines are designed to anticipate and address changing industry needs and opportunities while meeting two goals that haven't changed since the first edition: ensuring consistency and protecting the consumer experience."

The new guidelines are available at www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf.

The MMA would like to thank the following member companies that participated in the CBP committee and were instrumental in the development of the new guidelines:

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. The more than 700 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 it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.

SOURCE Mobile Marketing Association