funkysexycool » mobilegroove

In brief: A rundown of upcoming projects, a call to developers and publishers to submit their coolest ad-enabled mobile website, application or game for consideration and compete for the Smaato Mobile Advertising Award 2009; and a reminder to check out a new mobile advertising white paper explaining the nuts and bolts of ad optimization. Mobile advertising is the topic of the week at MSearchGroove. I'm attending the Mobile Marketing Forum Europe in Berlin; MSearchGroove has joined forces with research firm ÆNEAS Strategy to partner with the Mobile Marketing Association and undertake the organization's first pan-European research project examining the attitudes of mobile buyers; and Smaato, a pioneering mobile advertising company that operates a leading mobile ad optimization platform, has launched Mobile Advertising Award 2009, thus kicking of the search among the world's developers and publishes for outstanding innovation. After the success of competition last year, Smaato is back with a bigger and better Mobile Advertising Award 2009. As Harald Neidhardt, Smaato CMO & Co-Founder put it: "With more than 100 entrants in its first year we could not ask for more positive feedback. We think this is a clear indictor that there is a lot of creativity and positive energy in the ecosystem. The best is yet to come!" This year, the competition is divided into three categories of ad-enabled mobile solutions: iPhone, mobile website and applications, and games running on all other platforms. Participation is free and you can learn more about the application procedure here. Deadline for submissions is October 9th. The winner will be announced at the Mobile 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on October 15th. The winning companies in each category will be invited to attend Mobile World Congress, the leading mobile industry event, in Barcelona (February 15-18). In addition, Smaato will introduce these innovative publishers and developers to VC's at the partner level. Other prizes include a booth at the hugely successful mobile industry event M-Days in Munich (January 28-29, 2010) and free event tickets. MSearchGroove is proud to be a media partner and – on a personal note – I am honored to be named to the panel of judges.

Will 2009 be the year of mobile advertising? In Germany the question isn't associated with market hype; it's linked to the realization that the climate and conditions are right in Germany for mobile marketing to finally and formally take-off. Gone are many of the legal and business hurdles that have stifled ideas and innovation, paving the way for home-grown mobile marketing companies - such as MindMatics AG, Netbiscuits GmbH, Smaato Inc., and YOC AG - to take their place among international giants. This overview names companies and some interesting stats - thanks again to Mark ("Mr. Mobile") Waechter, independent media consultant and head of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) in Germany. Mobile World Congress (MWC) introduced me to some exciting German companies sure to leave their mark on mobile. Some (such as the amazing aki-aki) I met during my day judging the Mobile Peer Awards (the winner in the Emerging Startups category was Popcatcher, a Swedish company set to do for radio what TiVo did for TV). Others I connected with at the reception held by Smaato to announce the winner of the Smaato Mobile Advertising Award 2008 (which was DialPlus, by the way) and finalist companies: aka-aki, buzzd, Fishlabs, fring, FunkySexyCool, Peperoni, Qeep, Skout, TourSpot and Vayyoo. I also had a deliciously disruptive discussion with Harald Neidhardt, Smaato CMO & Co-Founder, during which I also learned more about m.LOVE, a path-breaking group of "mobile passionistas" Harald has brought together to discuss the future of mobile and ways how "mobile advertising, mobile social communities and the society find solutions to be more engaging in the mobile media of the future."