SINGAPORE, May 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual Mobile Marketing Association Forum (MMA) Singapore 2014 was held last week on 22nd May 2014 at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore, where over 250 delegates representing the mobile marketing ecosystem in Asia Pacific came together in a day-long event to discuss the future of the industry. Featuring a stellar line-up of speakers from brands, agencies, and technology companies, the event highlighted the strategic importance of mobile within the marketing mix and its role in the consumer path to purchase journey.
"I would like to thank our speakers, sponsors and delegates for sharing their insights and expertise with us and making the event a great success. As mobile becomes the primary screen for many consumers, it holds the key to more meaningful consumer engagement," said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific. "In addition, as evidenced by the millions of dollars' worth of transactions completed over mobile, consumers also use mobile devices as a decision-making tool making it all the more important for brands to invest in the medium."
The MMA Forum Singapore 2014 kicked off with a keynote session with Seng Yee Lau, President, Online Media Group, Tencent Holdings who discussed the disruptive role that mobile internet has played in China and how mobile has transformed from a touch point to a cash point. Concurrently, he also pointed out how the role of brands has evolved from being mere 'persuaders' to 'enablers' for their consumers.
Facebook's Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Myungjo Choi, discussed the trends impacting m-commerce with examples demonstrating how mobile marketers in the region have used mobile to increase visibility for their business, and to take capitalize on trending events. He also urged marketers to be thoughtful in their use of the mobile channel and to push for creative that is both of high quality and highly relevant to target audiences.
Relevance and contextualization was a key theme that emerged throughout the day's discussions. In another session, Dr. Beverly Harrison, Principal Scientist in Mobile at Yahoo! Labs, provided a number of insights into how mobile is shaping the consumer's daily technology and content consumption habits, gleaned from Yahoo!'s forays into delivering personalized content to consumer's on various screens.
Daniel Rosen, Global Chief Executive Officer, Joule also touched upon the need for advertisers to understand the users' context in more detail in order to deliver truly impactful experiences, arguing that brands need to harness the power of technology and data to tell stories across multiple screens.
Other speakers included Andrew Knott, VP -- Media & Digital, McDonald's Corporation, who shared how the brand is looking at new ways to provide holistic experiences to consumers across digital and in-store experiences. In a similar vein, Barney Loehnis, Head of Digital, Asia Pacific, Ogilvy & Mather, made the case for marketers to use a design-led service approach and create a 'wow' moment for their customers during their interactions with the brand.
The day concluded with a fireside chat in which MMA Asia-Pacific's Managing Director Rohit Dadwal took to the stage with MMA Chairman and Unilever Vice-President of Media -- Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Russia, Rahul Welde in a Q&A session on the FMCG giant's people-first marketing strategy and 'learning-by-doing' approach to mobile.
During the event the MMA also announced the opening of submissions for the Association's mobile excellence awards program, SMARTIES™ APAC 2014. The winners will be announced on 5th September 2014 at a Gala Dinner in Singapore and deadline for entries is 25th July 2014. For more information on the awards, please visit http://www.mmaglobal.com.
The MMA Forum Singapore 2014 was presented by Vserv.mobi and supported by GoldsunFocus Media, Mobilewalla, OutThere Media, MadHouse, Yahoo! and Opera Mediaworks.
