Mobile marketing: Mayberry or the Wild West? Page 2

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In March 2009, the mobile marketing industry took another major step toward the Mayberry ideal when the MMA announced an industry-first agreement with the four largest U.S. wireless service providers--AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless--to consolidate their individual mobile marketing guidelines and codes of conduct into a single document.

Known as "carrier playbooks," the individual sets of guidelines provided brands, agencies and other members of the mobile ecosystem with valuable recommendations and requirements for using a particular carrier's network. The big catch is that mobile marketing campaigns typically span multiple carriers, forcing companies to master and implement multiple sets of rules.

That process is complex and time-consuming and often is the gating factor in a mobile campaign's roll-out--not a viable option if the campaign's timeline is dictated by something else, such as the release date for a new album or cross promotion with a movie debut. Following multiple, disparate playbooks is also expensive because it requires more resources, such as additional staff responsible for each playbook's implementation.

For example, some carrier playbooks required the term "Standard Message Rates Apply," while others use "Standard Data Rates May Apply." Consumer Best Practices frees brands and agencies from becoming experts in each of the four largest carriers' minutiae by allowing them to use standardized language such as "Message & Data Rates May Apply." In the process, consumers encounter consistent language, instead of having to wonder whether one carrier's phrase means something different than another's.

Although that example might sound like a minor issue, it adds up to a major headache when multiplied by hundreds of similar requirements and multiplied again by four carriers. By consolidating the four playbooks into Consumer Best Practices--beginning with the 4.0 edition, published this June--the industry will achieve operational efficiencies upward of $200 million annually.

Just as important, consolidation minimizes some of the kinds of problems that can set the stage for the Wild West: an ignorance of rules or indifference developed out of the frustration trying to figure out which ones apply when and where.

Self-police or self-destruct

By agreeing on and adopting industry-standard rules, mobile marketing is avoiding the Wild West environment that other industries created by failing to police themselves. Banking is one cautionary tale. In 1999, the Treasury Department blasted banks for selling customers' personal information to telemarketers in return for a commission on sales.

"While it might be unfair to burden an entire industry with legislation aimed at curbing the poor conduct of a few institutions, the persistent failure of the industry itself to
address abusive conduct creates a fertile seedbed for legislation," John D. Hawke, Jr., the Treasury's comptroller of the currency, said in a speech to bankers.

It's equally important that industries be forward-thinking when self-policing. For example, today's cell phones and smartphones have advanced browser capabilities, and they run on networks that provide broadband speeds. All of that creates the opportunities for mobile marketing campaigns centered on the mobile Web.

Hence the need for industry-standard mobile Web guidelines designed to protect consumers and ensure the optimal user experience. The MMA website also makes it easy for consumers to report suspicious campaigns, which the MMA then investigates.

All members of the mobile marketing ecosystem have a vested interest in identifying and heading off practices that could jeopardize the consumer experience. The alternative is the Wild West, where reputable brands stay away--an alternative no one wants.

Mike Wehrs is president and CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). For more information, visit www.mmaglobal.com.

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