In a sign of the growing importance of mobile marketing to American enterprise, industry-leading mobile marketers from companies such as Target, Google, ESPN and CNN and others have been elected to the Mobile Marketing Association?s North American Board of Directors.

The directors were all elected by the MMA?s North American membership and will serve a two-year term beginning this month. In addition to the companies named above, other newly elected directors come from Mindshare, OpenMarket, The Hyperfactory, ExactTarget and Acta Wireless/Open Mobile Video Coalition.

"There is no doubt that mobile is becoming an integral part of a media business," said Michael Becker, managing director, North America, at the MMA. 'Whether you're a marketer, publisher or agency, you cannot ignore the fact that consumers are mobile and that the power to engage consumers to build brands and convert purchase intent to acquisitions.

"The overall objective of the MMA is to make mobile an indispensible part of a marketer's mix," he said.

"The biggest thing coming down the pike is executing the MMAs tremendous sponsorship at the Cannes Lions Festival next week. However, the big news is the transformation the MMA has experienced over the past year, including growing its membership and revenues by over 50 percent."

Critical role
Some of the MMA's achievements in 2011 include doubling the number of events, releasing Apps Privacy Guidelines and launching local councisl in China, Indonesia, Argentina, Mexico, East Africa and the Middle East.

The board will play a critical role in helping to share and accelerate mobile marketing in North America over the next two years, a critical time in the industry?s development as smartphone penetration reaches critical mass and national brands begin to funnel more money into mobile marketing.

The MMA North America newly elected board members include Michael Bayle, senior vice president and general manager of mobile and ESPN; Brian Bos, senior vice president and group director of emerging technology at Mindshare - Team Detroit; Lynn Brindell, senior vice president of marketing at CNN Worldwide; Jay Emmet, general manager of OpenMarket ? Amdocs; Geoffrey Handley, co-founder and new business and strategy director at the Hyperfactory, Timothy Kopp, chief marketing officer at ExactTarget; Brendon Kraham, global mobile sales and product strategy at Google; Kelly Lindberg, director of digital experience at Target and Anne Schelle, CEO and partner at Acta Wireless/Open Mobile Video Coalition.

MMA Forum
The newly elected board members join a number of continuing board members, whose terms were not up for re-election, including representatives from Verizon Wireless, The Weather Channel and The Coca-Cola Co.

The MMA is a global non-profit trade association that plays an important role in supporting the growth of mobile marketing. This week it is holding its annual MMA Forum in New York City, which will have a number of leading mobile marketers on hand to present case studies and educate marketers about the opportunities in mobile marketing.

Sessions will include Engaging the Consumer: How Mobile Changes Everything; Add Value & Educate from Within: How Coca-Cola?s Mobile Center of Excellence Keeps them Best-in-Class and What do Marketers Need from Their Agency.