MMA Secures Over $1 Million For First-Ever Global Cross Marketing Effectiveness Research To Measure The Impact Of Mobile

NEW YORK, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, during the MMA's Mobile CEO & CMO Summit in the Dominican Republic, Greg Stuart, CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), announced that the association has secured over $1 million in funding to launch the first-ever global, in-market research project that will evaluate the return on investment that mobile contributes to the marketing mix. Called SMoX.me for Smart Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness, the research will test real in-market marketing campaigns to determine the relative economic value of investing in mobile channels compared to traditional marketing channels. 

Stuart previously led the landmark Cross Media Optimization Study (XMOS) series starting in 2002, turning it into the largest advertising industry research program ever conducted working with leading brands including McDonalds, Ford, Colgate, ING & many others.  XMOS provided the first-ever opportunity for marketers to determine the optimal mix of internet media, TV, radio and print advertising drawn from real world, in-market results.

"We are extremely happy that the MMA is leading the charge with the Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness Study. With the radical shifts in consumer media consumption all around the world, it is vital that marketers get quantitative guidance from the industry on how to best optimize Mobile in the marketing mix," said Jack Haber, VP, Global Advertising and Digital for Colgate-Palmolive, which was a leading participant in the original Cross Media Study, XMOS. "This research has the potential to transform how marketing budgets are allocated in the same way as XMOS did."

Each SMoX.me study will provide a cross marketing channel return on investment analysis seeking to understand mobile marketing alongside traditional and other digital marketing channels in their ability to efficiently and effectively generate brand metrics (e.g. awareness, brand image or purchase intent) and/or sales, depending on a marketer's goals. The results are expected to also provide insight into channel mix optimization as well as assess more clearly the role and relative value of each of the individual mobile channels, including Mobile Display, Rich Media (or other unique ad types), Video, Audio, Email, SMS and others. Studies are already planned for the United States, United Kingdom and Turkey.

"As we integrate mobile into our marketing mix, it is critical for a brand like Coca-Cola to gain global insights on our ROI across our worldwide spend," said Tom Daly, Group Director, Global Connections, The Coca-Cola Company. "With its diverse global membership and the unparalleled expertise of its senior management in this particular type of research, the MMA is uniquely positioned to deliver essential quantitative metrics that we can use to guide allocations cross-media."

The Coca-Cola Company and Colgate-Palmolive are among the distinguished companies on the MMA Global Board of Directors supporting and spearheading this landmark research.

An RFP for this groundbreaking research has been sent to the leading research organizations. The consortium of participating companies will be actively involved in the selection process by reviewing and evaluating proposals from each research firm and will announce the SMoX.me research partner by third quarter 2012.  Additionally the consortium is also involved in selecting which brand marketers' campaigns will be measured as part of the research. 

"XMOS completely changed the marketing/media landscape as clearly evidenced by the extraordinary growth Internet advertising experienced in early-mid 2000s. I witnessed marketers who beat their competition by having this extra edge of quantifiable insight that XMOS provided," said Greg Stuart, CEO of MMA Global. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to launch a mobile study similar to XMOS, but this time on a global level, and I humbly predict that the implications of this research for mobile marketing will again change the way companies spend their marketing dollars."

Current participating SMoX.me partners include:
Vodafone
Pandora
The Weather Channel
Velti
AT&T AdWorks
InMobi Inc.
Telefonica
Tremor Video
Vibes

In 2006, Stuart co-authored What Sticks an authoritative book based on new insights from the XMOS research against $1 billion in ad spend with over 30 major marketers including Ford, ESPN, P&G, Colgate, Kraft Foods, Inc., VeriSign, Johnson & Johnson, Volkswagen, and Philips.  Ad Age suggested it was a must read that year.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
The 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 preserving privacy, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. MMA includes more than 700 member companies, representing nearly 50 countries across the mobile marketing industry including hardware providers, marketers, software developers and more. MMA global headquarters are located in the U.S., with regional chapters in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Emily Kutner, Brown Lloyd James
Landline: 212-486-7070 Mobile: 646-275-4450
[email protected]

SOURCE Mobile Marketing Association