Brands Share ‘How to’ on Mobile: Mobile Marketing Association Forum Singapore 2013
– Industry Research Signals Change as Brands Start Thinking Mobile
– SMARTIES APAC 2013 Award Winners Announced
AdLib – Media Sponsor
Some of the world’s largest brands, agencies and publishers gathered to discuss the future of the industry at the Mobile Marketing Association Forum Singapore (MMAF) from 22-23 August 2013, bringing together 250 delegates and speakers to make connections and discuss the future of mobile, in line with the event’s theme ‘Deconstructing Mobile.’
MMAF 2013 Singapore included representation from BMW Group, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Renren, Unilever, WPP and YouTube. Commenting, Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association, Asia Pacific, said: “MMAF 2013 Singapore has been a great success, providing a much-needed platform for delegates and speakers to share knowledge and insights into what mobile means for brands today. With mobile being the fastest growing component of overall marketing adspend, this is an exciting time for the mobile marketing industry. From the discussions over the last two days, and the research released during the event showing that Singapore mobile adspend alone hovers around USD 17 million, it is clear that mobile is now being seen as a priority platform for marketers. The power and prominence of mobile is not to be ignored.”
Highlights from the event included Daniel Lee, Director of Digital at McDonald’s APMEA explaining the brand’s ‘Now Wow Tao’ philosophy, describing how mobile can be used to “bridge the digital and physical worlds to create stronger customer engagement,” which has been key to McDonald’s success in Asia.
Sean Rach, Regional Director of Brand & Corporate Affairs at Prudential Corporation Asia, reminded the audience to “innovate to accumulate” – encouraging brands unfamiliar with the power of mobile to “take a chance on mobile.” This sentiment was echoed by Dick van Motman, Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Network/Asia, who talked about mobile as the essential “centre-piece” of the overall marketing mix. This also formed part of a panel discussion moderated by Barney Loehnis, Head of Digital Asia Pacific for Ogilvy and Mather which explored how in the last few years, consumers have caused great disruption in the way
they access content, communicate and interact.
Other highlights included a very visual presentation from Flipboard Vice President Eric Alexander, who talked through the company’s innovative approach to advertising, which he explained is based on providing something “visually appealing which gives something to the customer” through a combination of beauty and intelligent design aligned with changing consumer behaviours.
The event also saw the release of a trio of insightful industry reports, including a survey conducted by Warc for the MMA in partnership with The Festival of Media Asia 2014, which shows that while brands are still struggling to develop formal mobile strategies (66%), an encouraging 90% predict that budgets will increase next year, with a third (34%) predicting an increase of up to 75%.
Catch the full MMA Forum winners list on AdLib’s edm, scheduled for 2nd September.
