Mobile Advertising Metrics Action Team

Description of the Action Team:
It is proposed that the national U.S. wireless carriers, under the auspices of CTIA, form an industry working group to speed the adoption of mobile advertising in the US by working together to agree on certain minimum standards for critical pieces of the mobile advertising industry such as, reporting metrics, targeting information, ad inventory & consumer privacy. The team will work to remove current barriers to adoption, create market excitement & develop best practices with regard to both reporting and promotion. The Team would also monitor the progress of the GSMA action team & other industry organizations & collaborate where appropriate. Additionally, the team will solicit input from other industry representatives.

It is proposed that the Action Team be limited to the national U.S. wireless carriers until March 31, 2009. In the intervening months the carriers will collect & analyze data on mobile advertising & make recommendations for solutions to address the challenges the mobile marketing industry faces. On or before March 31, 2009 the carriers will propose a plan for changing the composition of this committee.

Key Deliverables:
Before March, 31, 2009 the Action Team will make the following recommendations:

• Measurement & Reporting: Advertisers need to be able to measure the results of their campaigns & do it in a manner that is repeatable, consistent & scalable, allowing easy comparison of the effectiveness of each campaign. To accomplish this, carriers need to define a common set of reporting metrics & measurement standards. The Action Team will determine the types of measurement standards & reporting metrics that will serve as the minimum levels supported by all carriers. The Team will also determine how & if these metrics & reports should be compiled & aggregated for the benefit of advertisers.

• Targeting: The ability of advertisers to deliver targeted ads depends on the type, amount, & accuracy of demographic, behavioral, location & other customer data. The Action Team will identify a minimum for the types of targeting information, if any, that could be supported by all carriers while protecting customer data.

• Advertising Inventory: Today, the most commonly used inventory in mobile advertising are SMS & mobile Internet banners. This is largely due to the availability of these types of inventory across most carriers. The Team will investigate the impact of expanding the types of inventory that are available from every carrier as well as the impact of allowing advertisers to purchase common inventory across all carriers from a single neutral cross-carrier media resource. The Team will make recommendations on which inventory, if any, will be supported across all carriers & if allowing advertisers to purchase common inventory from a single entity is feasible & beneficial to the industry.

• Consumer Privacy: Mobile advertising presents some new customer experience paradigms as well as the need for increased scrutiny of the protection of customer data & privacy. The Team will create a document that outlines the best-practices for the protection of customer privacy with respect to each of the preceding deliverables. This written industry position will serve to head off regulation in this space and clearly state what the wireless industry is committing to with regard to consumer privacy.