Mobile marketing in Phl poised for record growth

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile marketing in the Philippines is expected to grow faster than Internet and traditional marketing and expand to between two and three percent of the country’s total advertising spend in the next three to five years.

This projection came from the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Asia Pacific, citing statistics showing that the country’s volume of short messaging service (SMS) remained the largest in the world.

“The mobile industry is seeing great success in the Philippines. It was one of the first countries to publicize SMS remittance and SMS credit transfer services, which operators across the world have since tried to emulate. With the Philippines being the SMS capital of the world, the mobile industry here has the potential to set the standard for the world’s most evolved and viral SMS-based campaigns,” said managing director Rohit Dadwal of MMA Asia Pacific.

The Asia-Pacific region, according to Dadwal, leads the world in mobile marketing and advertising, and accelerating growth will see nearly $7.7 billion, or almost half of the more than $16 billion globally, in 2011.

“So far, we have seen a lot of innovative mobile marketing campaigns from FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) brands. A number of magazines, TV channels, banks, restaurants, automobile companies, satellite television providers and mobile service operators have also created a significant mobile presence. Based on our experience, we believe the Philippines is well placed to take advantage of the benefits of mobile marketing as a platform for consumer engagement and outreach,” Dadwal stressed.

The MMA, which has been educating global businesses on mobile marketing guidelines and best practices, is supporting the Mobile Marketing Conference slated at the Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City, on April 7-8.

The conference will showcase all the available technologies that marketers can use to capitalize on the robust local mobile industry. 

More information on the conference can be obtained from Fiera de Manila Inc. with tel. nos. 8960639, 8960637, 8996893.