A year of education lies ahead

By Mickey Alam Khan

December 17, 2007

Mickey Alam Khan is editor in chief of Mobile Marketer

The UN declared 2008 both as the Year of the Planet Earth and the Year of the Potato. For the Chinese, 2008 is the Year of the Rat. For mobile marketers, it should be the Year of Education.

While the mobile phone has been around for a while, its many applications for personal and marketing use are only now being fully exploited. But there is still plenty of educational work to be done on the marketing front.

Start with perception. It’s still early days, so the mobile marketing industry has the upper hand in deciding how to project itself to various constituencies that matter – consumers, advertisers, carriers, service providers and government. You don’t want others to define the industry or its positioning, as has happened with other marketing sectors – spam for email, the do-not-call list for teleservices.

One way to maintain control over the industry’s positioning is to follow best practices. The Mobile Marketing Association has drawn up a fairly thorough set of guidelines. Read them, pass them around and practice them. Ethics matter when an industry is rife with differing standards and platforms.

Maintaining a strong lobby in Washington is another necessity. Marketing is low-hanging fruit for politicians. And 2008 is election year. So the slightest marketing misdemeanor could turn a whiff of scandal into the stench of regulation. It is critical at such times to explain the marketer’s point of view and make the connection between ethical marketing and the economy’s well-being.

Inviting smart talent into the industry – from the interactive, direct or brand marketing sides – is also key to making sure that mobile is regarded as a necessary component in the multichannel marketing mix. Fresh blood brings fresh perspective and new enthusiasm.

The fact that most major trade shows this year, such as ad:tech New York, Search Engine Strategies Conference and Exhibition Chicago and the Direct Marketing Association’s DMA07 in Chicago, had sessions on mobile marketing was good news for the industry.

The increased number of delegates at the MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum in New York in June was a ringing endorsement that budgets are moving to mobile marketing. Also, Yankee Group’s Mobile Internet World show last month attracted 2,200 delegates to Boston. And that was its first such show.

So the appetite for learning and sharing experiences is building. Expect more mobile-focused sessions and shows next year. Expect more exhibitors and pitches. If this year was any indication, delegate traffic will grow too. To swell the ranks of the educated is to boost the prospects for responsible mobile marketing.