The Mobile Marketing Association announced on July 1 it has released the latest version – its fourth — of its US Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. MMA updates the guidelines twice a year.
The latest version includes what the association calls a “milestone”: it consolidates the individual mobile marketing guidelines, aka “carrier playbooks,” of the four largest US wireless service providers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA. That eliminates the need for marketers to refer to four separate sets of carrier rules and guidelines, since the four carriers are now collaborating on standards for the industry.
Kristine van Dillen, director, Industry Initiatives and Partnerships at MMA, said this should greatly simplify the process for technology enablers and marketers to execute short code messaging program. “It currently takes six weeks to get a [typical] mobile marketing program approved” because of a complicated string of processes and approvals with carriers that have until now been using different terminology, van Dillen said. “[With the new guidelines,] it becomes cheaper and easier for them to implement mobile marketing campaigns.” She added that it also “gives a brand the ability to give more peace of mind to the consumer that they are following best practice guidelines.”
The guidelines were produced by MMA’s Consumer Best Practices committee, which includes member companies such as AT&T, Publicis NA, Fox Mobile Entertainment and Yahoo. The committee solicited feedback from more than 200 industry stakeholders at about 120 member companies.
