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Mondelez International vows to shape mobile industry in 90 days via Mobile Futures initiative

NEW YORK ? A Mondelez International executive at the Mobile Marketing Association?s SM2 conference announced that the company is determined to scale existing innovations via its new Mobile Futures program that aims to collaborate with mobile start-ups. 

During the conference?s closing keynote, the executive discussed the important role that mobile plays in the company?s overall strategy. Monedelez International, formerly Kraft Foods Inc., is taking big steps in cementing its position in mobile and expanding the company?s reach in the space.

?We?re committed to continuing to be an innovator in the mobile space,? said Bonin Bough, vice president of global media and consumer engagement at Mondelez International. ?We are here to announce and launch a bold new program ? a program that at its core is about innovation in the mobile media space.

?And it?s our attempt to continue to drive and foster a culture of media innovation within our organization and at the same time developing a culture of ?intrapreneurship,?? he said.

?We believe that we can create the future in 90 days and if there?s one things that we learned, is that pace is important. We do not have the ability to sit around and wait.?

New breakthroughs
The Mobile Futures program will pair Mondelez International's power brands with select start-ups to not only accelerate and scale existing mobile innovations, but also incubate brand new mobile ventures, each in just 90 days.

According to Mr. Bough, American consumers spend more than 23 percent of their daily media consumption on a mobile device.

However, many marketers still only dedicate less than one percent of their media spend to mobile. 

To change that, Mondelez is allocating 10 percent of its global marketing budget in mobile activations and channels across the entire consumer journey.

?We know there?s a lot of innovation happening outside of our organization, so it was all about how do we create a structured platform to collaborate with individuals,? Mr. Bough said. 

Future of mobile
Along came Mobile Futures.

Mondelez created the platform to collaborate with start-ups who are clearly making an impact in the mobile space.

At the same time, the company wanted to make sure that they had a program that allowed them to take what they learned and put them into market at scale.

?This is a program that?s necessary in the community,? Mr. Bough said. 

Final Take