Mobile Marketing Association Brings The SMARTIES to Asia

Inaugural regional awards recognizing the best of mobile campaigns now open for submissions, local iterations announced in India and China

Singapore - May 31, 2013: The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile industry, today announced categories for The SMARTIES™ in Asia. The SMARTIES™ is the only global awards programme that recognises innovation, creativity and leadership in mobile marketing. The awards are open for submissions till 31 July, 2013 and will be presented to winners at a gala ceremony in Singapore on 23 August, 2013.

“Brands and agencies are starting to push the boundaries of engagement and purchase via mobile in Asia Pacific. We have seen some excellent work from our region go through to the global awards over the last few years as well as local heroes in India and China,” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director – Asia Pacific, MMA. “It’s the right time to bring the awards to Asia at a regional level, so we can see best practice and innovation being showcased.”

Chairman of the Board, Asia Pacific and Jury Chair for The SMARTIES™ Rahul Welde said, “Marketers are recognising the true potential of the mobile channel in emerging and mature markets in the Asia Pacific region. The SMARTIES™ are the gold standard for the mobile industry and we look forward to seeing the best campaigns being submitted for review and consideration.” Welde is Vice President – Media, Russia, Turkey, Middle East, Africa and Asia at Unilever.

The SMARTIES™ celebrate outstanding achievements within the mobile industry. Categories for the Asia 2013 awards span Marketing Strategy, Channel/Media Strategy, Enabling Technologies, and Industry which selects the “Best in Show” and honours each player – Agencies, Operators, Enabling Technologies and Publishers/Media Companies – for their own individual role in building the industry through their innovation and leadership. The MMA calls for entries to be submitted in the following categories:

Marketing Strategy
1. Brand Awareness
2. Lead Generation / Direct Response / Conversion
3. Product / Services Launch
4. Promotion
5. Relationship Building / CRM
Channel / Media Strategy
6. Cross Media Integration
7. Cross Mobile Integration
8. In-App Advertising – Gaming or other
9. Messaging – e.g. SMS, Apps Messaging, Long form codes and others
10. Mobile App
11. Mobile Website
Enabling Technologies
12. Innovation
13. Location Based
14. mCommerce
15. Video / Rich Media
Industry Awards
16. Best in Show
17. Regional Agency of the Year in Mobile
18. Regional Enabling Technology Company of the Year in Mobile
19. Regional Operator of the Year in Mobile
20. Regional Publisher / Media Company of the Year in Mobile

The SMARTIES™ APAC 2013 winners will be recognized for excellence at an awards ceremony at the close of the MMA Forum Singapore 2013 on Friday, 23 August, 2013 at Pan Pacific Singapore.

Companies interested in submitting for local awards in India and China will also be able to submit. Local winners will be recognised at separate events in Beijing (11 July, 2013) and New Delhi (5 September, 2013). Submission deadlines for local events are 15 June and 10 August 2013 respectively.

Submissions should be for campaigns that were active in the marketplace between May 2012 and July 2013. The final winners will be selected by the SMARTIES™ jury panel.