Mobile Marketing Association Puts Forth EMEA Guidelines

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Major mobile advertisers, including Yahoo, Enpocket and Admob have announced that their mobile properties worldwide will adhere to new advertising guidelines set out by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) EMEA. The guidelines, published today, are intended to establish a common standard for mobile ad campaigns in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as deliver a consistent consumer experience across handsets.

The guidelines were established in collaboration with MMA representatives from 40 companies in total, including both mobile advertising networks and network providers. Their purpose, according to the MMA, is to minimize the amount of creative effort required for a mobile ad campaign, and to provide an effective and engaging experience to the consumer on the majority of handsets.

“The guidelines simplify market entries for publishers," Laura Marriott, MMA President, told ClickZ. "Rather than creating multiple ads for different handsets, this enables them to focus on one single creative. A single consistent global guideline for mobile advertising will help to drive the evolution of the mobile advertising industry, and create a consistent and positive consumer experience on mobile phones.”

The guidelines include ad format recommendations that specify standard banner widths of 120, 168, 216 and 300 pixels, and file sizes of no more than 5KB. Text banners should be limited to three lines of text containing a maximum of 16 characters per line. "Aspects" the MMA has considered but not added to its formal recommendations include automatic resizing of Web banners to match screen sizes and applying an "advertising" signifier" to paid placements.

Yahoo's Michael Bayle, GM, global monetization, connected life, said in a statement called the establishment of guidelines in the regions covered "a critical factor in the success of the mobile advertising industry." He added, "With mobile penetration over 100 per cent in the U.K., the potential of mobile advertising is huge and we are seeing big brands come on board to take advantage of its immediacy, reach and response rate.”

Yahoo expects to complete the conversion of its mobile Web properties to comply with the new guidelines by the final quarter of the year, according to Bayle.

The MMA is not resting on its laurels. The organization's next move is to propose a global code of conduct with regards to privacy. "Protecting the consumer is essential in moving the medium of mobile advertising forward," said Marriott.

The guidelines, including a full list of the 40 companies involved in their conception can be downloaded from the MMA's site.