Mobile Marketing Guidelines in the Works

The Mobile Marketing Association has set up committees to tackle best practices and ROI metrics for the nascent wireless medium.

“As mobile marketing moves from a hypothetical market to a real market, along with it comes more members and competing agendas,” said Mike Baker, who heads the best practices group. Baker is president and CEO of mobile marketing firm Enpocket.

By year’s end, the best practices group plans to recommend guidelines for campaigns that use SMS, MMS and the wireless Web, as well as PDA-based programs. Also on the committee are executives from Third Screen Media, AvantGo, and OgilvyInteractive Worldwide.

The metrics committee will fix parameters for the accurate measurement of cross-media ROI. Chaired by Procter & Gamble systems manager Jean Berberich, other members include Carat Interactive, Sprint, Cingular, and Visa U.S.A.

The MMA has tried to guide the best practices conversation in the past. Just over a year ago, the group released a code of conduct for mobile marketers. Baker said one of his committee’s orders of business would be to examine and reconsider that document. In general, the MMA has not been highly visible in the U.S.

“The idea behind the best practices committee is to continue some of the early work that’s [been done] in the U.S. and come together as an industry,” Baker said. “Not only to define best practices, but talk about where the future of the medium is going as far as code of practices, regulation and legal issues.”

Both committees will hold their first meetings in March.