The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (www.mmaglobal.com) today released the latest version of its U.S. Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. Updated regularly, the guidelines are the industry standard for cross-carrier mobile content services such as text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), shortcode programs, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile Web.

The new, version 4.0 guidelines are the first to consolidate the individual mobile marketing guidelines and codes of conduct – known as “carrier playbooks” – of the four largest U.S. wireless service providers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA. Announced in March 2009, this industry-first agreement is a milestone toward the continued growth of mobile marketing and will achieve operational efficiencies for the industry upwards of $200 million annually.

Produced by the MMA’s CBP Committee, the guidelines provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the U.S. ecosystem. At 100 pages, the new CBP document is significantly more comprehensive than the previous edition, yet it provides the industry with the first concise, inclusive set of guidelines by eliminating the need to refer to four separate carrier playbooks.

In addition to incorporating carrier standards, the new guidelines include revisions and additions to key areas such as:

• Standardizing the language “Msg & Data Rates May Apply”
• Allowing for more flexibility with PIN location in message-terminated (MT) messages
• Modifying the STOP requirement in Opt-in MT messages

The guidelines also feature a new reference ID system designed to make it fast and easy to navigate the document and find information. The guidelines help standardize practices across the industry which provides a better experience for customers by ensuring the consistency of mobile marketing campaigns across the four major U.S. carriers.

"Verizon Wireless has a long history of trying to protect our customers against unscrupulous marketing practices," said Richard Williams, Verizon executive director of marketing. "By sharing best practices with other companies in the mobile marketing ecosystem, we hope to drive these practices out of the wireless marketplace altogether."

"The latest MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines are an industry milestone toward meeting the ecosystem’s need for a concise yet comprehensive set of rules at a time when rapid growth increases the challenge of following multiple playbooks,” said Mike Wehrs, President and CEO of the MMA. “By providing a single, industry-standard reference, the new guidelines free carriers, technology companies, brands, media companies and consumer advocates to focus on protecting consumers, providing the optimal user experience and continuing the mobile channel’s growth.”

The guidelines are available for download at www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf.

The MMA would like to thank the following member companies that participated in the CBP committee and were instrumental in the development of the new guidelines:

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin American (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com. For information relating to the MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum series, please visit www.mobilemarketingforum.com.