Mobile?s role in closing the loop along the path to purchase is the focus of this week?s MMA Forum in New York, the flagship conference for the Mobile Marketing Association.

The May 8-10 event at the Marriott Marquis in New York?s Times Square is set to attract speakers from The Home Depot, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Mondelez International and JPMorgan Chase as well as a bevy of vendors in the mobile marketing space. 

?As marketers embrace mobile as a gateway to stronger consumer interactions, they want to share, discuss and even celebrate mobile?s transformation of the industry,? said Michael Becker, North America managing director of the MMA.

?Business leaders have realized the power and potential of mobile and no longer underestimate its value as a communications platform,? he said.

In this Q&A, Mr. Becker discusses the focus of the conference, changes to the format, member expectations of the association and progress made in mobile. Please read on.

What?s the flavor of this year?s MMA Forum New York?
This year we wanted to focus on mobile?s power and potential to influence the entire path to purchase.

From awareness, transaction, loyalty to social advocacy, brands that effectively use mobile throughout the path to purchase can optimize lifetime value.

And considering how instrumental mobile is and will continue to be, we wanted to represent all milestones of the path to purchase across the forum.

It is truly transformational what mobile can achieve for marketers when they engage the entire purchase funnel.

We will arm attendees with a blueprint on how to connect more meaningfully consumers with mobile leading the charge.

That is why we asked Trish Mueller, CMO of The Home Depot, to deliver the opening keynote and Winston Wang, global director for strategic innovation at Anheuser-Busch InBev, to deliver the closing keynote. 

Home Depot and AB InBev have strengthened their marketing efforts by employing a mobile strategy that embraces the entire path to purchase.

User experience is at the heart of both companies? marketing outreach and mobile has the ability to tailor and localize the brand experience for each and every consumer.

Additionally, to demonstrate mobile?s influence beyond the marketing community, we will unveil the ?MMA Mobile Marketing Economic Impact Study? the morning of May 9.

This study is the first objective and comprehensive overview of U.S. economic performance across the mobile marketing industry.

Peter A. Johnson and Joseph Plummer of mLightennment conducted the research to review mobile?s impact on the U.S. economy and marketing landscape.

We are confident that results from the ?MMA Mobile Marketing Economic Impact Study? will offer further insight on mobile?s potential as a viable and lucrative platform.

Follow the announcement and stats from the study on @MMAglobal and with the hashtag #MEIS.

Which brands have you roped in?
Besides The Home Depot and AB InBev we have the following companies on the speaker lineup at the MMA New York Forum: ePrize, VivaKi, ePrize, Google, Ingersoll Rand, Catalina, FunMobility, AdColony, Velti, PayPal, appsavvy, JP Morgan Chase, Kiip, Digitas, Flurry, Nielsen, Mondel?z International, eMarketer, Urban Airship, Macy?s, Hulu, American Express, Millennial Media and ExactTarget, among 100 other speakers the entire mobile ecosystem. 

What does the speaker lineup say about the progress of mobile marketing?
There has been a consistent increase in marketer and agency participation at all MMA events.

As marketers embrace mobile as a gateway to stronger consumer interactions, they want to share, discuss and even celebrate mobile?s transformation of the industry.

Business leaders have realized the power and potential of mobile and no longer underestimate its value as a communications platform.

Our speaker roster is brimming with media visionaries that are united by one thought: mobile represents the future of media and marketing.

As for future events, I expect even more brands to step forward and want to share their insights and discoveries around mobile marketing.

How will this year?s event differ from last year?s?
In a matter of a year, we have moved the conversation from ?why mobile? and the tactical ?how? to the strategic imperative.  

Today?s leading companies know that mobile must be at the heart of their entire brand experience.

And with the dialogue focusing on the strategic areas of mobile marketing, we can educate attendees on how to strengthen their mobile efforts and offer a blueprint to get brands mobile-ready.

By discussing mobile?s role along the path to purchase, attendees will realize mobile?s monumental impact on every milestone. 

For example, Deloitte Consulting LLP noted that by 2016 mobile will command 17?21 percent of total annual retail sales, amounting to $628 billion to $752 billion. 

Awareness, conversion, transaction, CRM, loyalty and customer service ? mobile inspires and influences all.

By proving to the audience that mobile has the ability to strengthen upper-, mid- and lower-funnel tactics, we will move the needle forward for the industry and form smarter dialogue around mobile marketing effectiveness.

And how many people are you expecting this year versus last?
Since we have a number of exclusive announcements and research being unveiled on the forum stage, we expect an increase in attendance.

I would estimate 700 to attend across the entire forum with attendees from all areas of marketing, media and advertising.

Moving from the Waldorf Astoria to the Marriott Marquis in Times Square ? why that decision?
There is no stronger demonstration of the intersection of advertising and commerce than Times Square.

When we are talking about the path to purchase, Times Square captures that theme perfectly from awareness to transaction and even CRM.

What?s the exhibitor makeup like?
We have an incredibly strong showing of exhibits this year, representing the core capabilities for leveraging mobile across the path-to-purchase, including ePrize, Google, Nexage, Celtra, Rubicon, Apsalar, July Systems, Catalina, PayPal, Precision Insight, Neustar, Syniverse, Sybase, Vibes, mBlox, Artisan, Scanbuy, Denso, Digimarc, Digby and Xtify. 

We are also thrilled to have the Path-to-Purchase Institute and the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, leading associations focused on evolving the mobile and media marketplace, presenting at the forum.

Really, if you want to know how mobile works, all you need to do is spend a day in the exhibit hall. The leaders can tell you everything.

What role do the forums play for the MMA and its members?
The mission of the MMA is to ensure that mobile evolves as an integral component of the marketing mix and one way we move this mission forward is through education.

Forums bring together business leaders to discuss, debate and share insights on evolving and executing the mobile experience.

There is also the bonus of networking across companies and peers. I have been told that more business is conducted throughout the forum than in most boardrooms.

The forum attracts buyers, sellers and enablers to connect, network and form new relationships.

Any changes to the MMA?s events structure?
We are currently programming our presence at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and the CEO Summit, which is an invite-only event.

The MMA event lineup has never been stronger with increased attendance as well as high caliber of speakers at each event. And due to this success, we are not changing anything to the event structure.

What are the key concerns of MMA members, especially in North America?
With mobile evolving at a breakneck pace, marketing tactics still trail the opportunities that new technology and platforms offer.

We need to focus our efforts to boost the knowledge and understanding of the marketing community so they feel confident to invest and increase mobile marketing efforts.

Recurring themes that are voiced by our members, include furthering the dialogue around privacy and data management, optimizing consumer adoption of mobile video, enabling mobile commerce, proving advertising effectiveness and leveraging mobile media ? apps, Web, SMS, audio ? to create stronger user experiences.