Mobile Marketing Association to Build Mobile Privacy Guidelines for Thriving Marketplace

NEW YORK, LONDON, SINGAPORE and SAO PAULO, Dec. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) today announced the launch of an initiative focused on the development of a comprehensive set of mobile privacy guidelines to complement its already well-established Global Code of Conduct. The objective of these guidelines is to address the growing need for marketers and consumers to have a transparent, accepted understanding as to how consumer information is collected and used for the purposes of relevant value exchange within a mobile marketing context and across market sectors.

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"The launch of this initiative shows the MMA's and Mobile industry's ongoing commitment to the importance of consumer transparency with regards to privacy issues and data collection," said Greg Stuart, Global CEO of the MMA. "The industry recognizes that in order for marketers and publishers to responsibly and sustainably engage consumers through and with the mobile channel, we need to continuously update how we address the collection, management and use of personal data or related consumer information."

The MMA is calling upon leaders across the mobile ecosystem, including media companies, mobile carriers, marketers, agencies and media technologies, to join in this effort by participating on its Privacy Committee.  This will also be an important point of discussion at the MMA's Consumer Best Practices (CBP) meeting, January 2526 in Boca Raton, Florida. The CBP meeting is the MMA's annual forum that facilitates an open dialog around the mobile marketing industry's consumer-engagement, self-regulatory principles and guidelines, including best practices for messaging, mobile web, applications, advertising, commerce and privacy.

The MMA's privacy initiative, led by Alan Chapell, president of Chapell & Associates and Co-Chair of the MMA Privacy Committee, hope to establish a common framework that marketers and media companies can use to engage consumers through and with mobile. These deliverables will help marketers and media companies understand how to appropriately engage consumers directly through the eight mobile media paths (SMS, MMS, Email, Voice, Applications, Mobile Internet, Content and Proximity channels) and with mobile when used in a traditional media context across various market sectors, such as consumer packaged goods, retail, financial services and healthcare.

"As an emerging industry, there's a significant opportunity in the mobile space for all participants to proactively embrace the concept of 'privacy by design,'" said Chapell. "I applaud the MMA for taking the initiative on these important issues."

Individuals and organizations interested in collaborating with the MMA on these efforts should contact the MMA at committees@mmaglobal.com.

Hosted by the MMA's CBP Committee, the CBP Guidelines provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices. Frequently updated, these Guidelines set the industry standard for cross-carrier mobile content services, such as text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), email, shortcode programs, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), mobile web, proximity channels and applications.

To attend the CBP forum, please register at http://mmaglobal.com/CBP-2011.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association representing all players in the mobile marketing value chain. With more than 700 member companies, the MMA is an action-oriented organization with global focus, regional actions and local relevance. The MMA's primary focus is to establish mobile as an indispensable part of the marketing mix. The MMA works to promote, educate, measure, guide and protect the mobile marketing industry worldwide. The MMA's global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.

SOURCE Mobile Marketing Association