Global organization brings together operators, marketers, brands and mobile Web community to define best practices for off-portal mobile advertising

DUBLIN, Ireland – The dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) today announced the formation of its Mobile Advertising Task Force, led by Millennial Media SVP Eric Eller as Chairman and Smaato CMO Harald Neidhardt as Co-Chair. The first deliverable is a position paper being released today entitled, “Mobile Advertising in a .mobi World,” which defines the global mobile advertising ecosystem and outlines opportunities for off-portal mobile advertising on Web sites developed on .mobi domains.

MAG members contributing to the paper include Millennial Media, Smaato, Nubiq, Vantrix, Nokia, dotMobi, Add2Phone, M:Metrics and The Weather Channel Interactive. The position paper is also supported by MAG alliance member the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), which represents more than 500 member companies worldwide.

“The dotMobi Advisory Group’s task force initiative is the first of its kind to objectively and thoroughly define the entire global mobile advertising ecosystem,” said Eric Eller, SVP of Millennial Media and MAG task force Chairman. “It addresses the opportunities for advertisers, agencies and operators, as active partners, to fully monetize the emerging mass-market off-portal mobile Web industry. I’m excited by the enormous level of interest from marketers to learn more about effective Mobile Advertising and look forward to seeing MAG champion the off-portal market opportunity for mobile advertising.”

Through the leadership and vision of the task force, the MAG will aggressively explore and define made-for-mobile Web product, policy and commercialization opportunities for mobile advertising in the off-portal marketplace. The task force is responsible for:

• Defining the global mobile advertising ecosystem for the off-portal marketplace
• Developing best practices and policies for mobile advertising on .mobi domains, based on published guidelines by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
• Developing relevant business models for off-portal mobile advertising on .mobi domains
• Helping brands and operators monetize off-portal opportunities
• Supporting innovation and growth of off-portal mobile advertising through education and market research initiatives

“The task force’s off-portal .mobi domain mandate complements the pioneering work recently published by the Mobile Marketing Association for mobile advertising guidelines and best practices,” said Harald Neidhardt, Smaato Co-founder and CMO. “We are pleased with the contributions and support we’ve received for the positioning paper and look forward to sharing it with the global mobile Web community.”

“We are delighted to launch the only unified global forum chartered to explore, define and deliver a viable roadmap for the off-portal mobile advertising industry,” adds Michael J. O’Farrell, Chair and Executive Director of the dotMobi Advisory Group. “In the absence of a single industry trade association that has focused on the global opportunity for the off-portal marketplace, we would like to thank Mr. Eller, Mr. Neidhardt, our MAG members and alliance partners for supporting our significant undertaking to anchor the future success of the off-portal marketplace with mobile web best practices all trust marked by services delivered on .mobi domains.”

As the off-portal mobile Web advocate, the MAG will address mobile advertising challenges, benefits and opportunities inherently underdeveloped in the off-portal mobile web industry. By leveraging alliances with trade associations and other standards bodies, the task force will define best practices and business models for presenting the most compelling, rewarding and intuitive user experiences for mobile advertising in the off-portal marketplace.

The free Mobile Advertising in a .mobi World: Position Paper clearly illustrates how the entire mobile advertising ecosystem works and participates in the off-portal marketplace:

Chapter 1 – Mobile Advertising in a .mobi World
Chapter 2 – Mobile Browser Market Research by M:Metrics
Chapter 3 – The Mobile Advertising Market Opportunity
Chapter 4 – The Mobile Advertising Value-Chain
Chapter 5 – Mobile Advertising Business Models
Chapter 6 – Brand and Mobile Network Operator Opportunities in Mobile Advertising
Chapter 7 – Position Paper Synopsis
Chapter 8 – Call to Action
Chapter 9 – Industry Support
Chapter 10 – dotMobi Advisory Group Community
Chapter 11 – Mobile Advertising Case Study: The Weather Channel Interactive

The MAG is actively recruiting participants to join its Mobile Advertising Task Force from private and public sector organizations around the world.

About the dotMobi Advisory Group

The dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) is a dotMobi accredited independent not-for-profit industry forum with the goal of ensuring that the dotMobi Top Level Domain (.mobi) is operated in the best interests of the global dotMobi community and the Internet at large. The MAG explores the dotMobi technical style guides and best practices, domain policies and commercialization initiatives, providing policy advice to dotMobi through the Policy Advisory Board (PAB). The MAG enables its members to keep in touch with market trends and understand, assess and prioritize the needs of the mobile Internet community and acts as a vehicle for mobile industry stakeholders to network and voice their opinions and ideas for the betterment of the mobile Internet experience.