Please don't ask: "Is this the year of mobile?"

NEW YORK – Informative and educational: That was the feedback from some executives attending the first day of the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum.

The day's content included an informative keynote, an in-depth analysis on an integrated adidas campaign, AKQA case studies and a panel dedicated to teaching attendees the importance of mobile analytics started the event off. Here's what forum attendees thought of the show so far. Here goes:

“[The show so far] is very informative,” said Scott Forrest, managing partner at Mobile FKM. “My feeling is that the industry is so fragmented it could be overwhelming. You really need to sit across from these guys to understand what they are saying. So it’s really helpful.”

Mr. Forrest wasn’t the only one who found the sessions informative.

“The sessions are very educational and give a great overview of the industry,” said Diane Walter, senior manager of email marketing at American Eagle Outfitters. “I am hoping to gain knowledge and contacts so I can take our mobile marketing to the next level.”

The sessions at the show gave marketers an insight into industry trends.

“As a company owner, I’m hoping to figure out all the current trends,” said Aftab Choudrie, principal at EBR Systems LLC.

And then, of course, there were some delegates who just can't bear to hear that old question popped. Take Steen Andersson, vice president of marketing, and Meredith Kepron, senior account manager, both at mobile marketing services firm 5th Finger.

"Everybody's asking that question, 'Is this the year of mobile?'" Mr. Andersson said. "My response is that it's a bloody stupid question to ask. But Meredith's response is it's the decade of mobile.

"Just like the Internet - which year was the year of the Internet?" he said. "Well, there were 10 such years of growth of the Internet."

Pressing the case
The forum also held a special press event during lunchtime featuring Gene Keenan, vice president of mobile strategies of Isobar; Tom Daly, group manager of strategy and planning at Coca-Cola Co.; Federico Pisani Massamomile, CEO of Hanzo; and MMA president Laura Marriot. All gave their outlook on mobile.

Ms. Marriot stressed the importance of the MMA's recently published Global Mobile Advertising guidelines. She said that the purpose of the guidelines was to keep the mobile industry self-regulated.

Mr. Massamomile talked about mobile in terms of driving awareness and increasing sales and traffic.

Also, Mr. Daly emphasized content's role.

“Premium mobile content is what is going to drive traffic, awareness and sales,” Mr. Daly said. “We have to be aligned on what type of an experience we [the industry] want to provide to consumers."

Editorial assistant Gabrielle Kalika reported

Associate Editor Giselle Abramovich covers ad networks, advertising, content, email, media, messaging, legal/privacy, search, social networks, television and video. Reach her at giselle@mobilemarketer.com.