Partnering with WARC, MMA Launches Business Impact Index – and Business Impact Award -- to Identify, Rank and Award Agencies and Brands That Deliver the Highest Level of Campaign Impact

North America Smarties Launch, Plus New Awards for VR/AV and 360-Degree Video

New York – June 29, 2017 – The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile marketing industry, announced the introduction of the Smarties Business Impact Index, a new measure for identifying, ranking and awarding brands, agencies and technology companies which deliver the highest level of business impact. The new index is being created in partnership with WARC, which provides advertising best practice, evidence and insights from the world's leading brands.

Each year, just after the Global Smarties Awards, the MMA will publish a “Top 5” ranking of mobile marketing companies – including an individual ranking each of agencies and brands – that are achieving the biggest business impact. The top ranked company in each category will receive the brand new Smarties Index Business Impact Award. The award will be the ultimate achievement in mobile marketing, as it is an honor derived from aggregating the business impact of all the Smarties-winning campaigns from around the world. Last year, the MMA received more than 2,000 submissions from more than 30 countries.

The 2017 Smarties programs around the world will adjust the current weighting of the judging criteria, making business impact the most weighted element in determining which campaigns win Smarties either globally, regionally or country-specific. Business impact will now be 40 percent of each entrant’s overall score, with creative, strategy and execution each consisting of 20 percent. Formerly, effectiveness made up the last quarter of the final tally, but business impact further extends the requirements. Effectiveness addressed solely the ROI of campaign performance while business impact goes beyond ROI of an individual campaign and will be indexed against overall impact of aggregated work for a company. This makes the Smarties the first global program to award campaigns on business impact.

“We know, based on surveys we have conducted, that brands’ priorities are squarely focused on business growth, customized engagement with their consumers and innovation – all three of which are being powered by mobile," explains Sheryl Daija, Chief Strategy Officer, MMA. "It is critical that marketers and their agencies understand the true impact campaigns, both on an individual basis as well as their cumulative efforts have on creating real business impact against marketing objectives. The Business Impact Index is a game changer for the Smarties and the marketing industry, as it forces focus on what ultimately matters, the transformational and direct impact mobile has on overall business.”

The MMA has also expanded Smarties Award categories this year to honor achievements in Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality and 360-degree Video. Due to the exploratory nature of these newer categories as well as innovation and Internet of Things, the weighting of business impact will be adjusted downwards. The goal here is to encourage any form of innovation or forward thinking in these emerging technologies.

Also added is North America as its own region, joining already-existing Smarties regional competitions in LATAM, APAC and EMEA. Marketers looking to submit entries can learn more on the MMA Smarties site or contact Barbara Parker via email at [email protected]. The entry deadline has been extended July 7, 2017.

Marketing campaigns that ran from January 2016 to June 2017 are eligible for entry to the Global Smarties Awards. Regional campaigns for North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America must have run from January to December 2016 to be eligible for award submissions.

About the MMA

The MMA is the world’s leading global non-profit trade mobile marketing association comprised of more than 800 member companies, from nearly fifty countries around the world. Our members hail from every faction of the mobile marketing ecosystem, including brand marketers, agencies, mobile technology platforms, media companies, operators and others. The MMA’s mission is to accelerate the transformation and innovation of marketing through mobile, driving business growth with closer and stronger consumer engagement. Anchoring the MMA’s mission are four core pillars; to cultivate inspiration by driving innovation for the Chief Marketing Officer; to build the mobile marketing capabilities for marketing organizations through fostering know-how and confidence; to champion the effectiveness and impact of mobile through research providing tangible ROI measurement; and to advocate for mobile marketers. Additionally, MMA industry-wide committees work collaboratively to develop and advocate global best practices and lead standards development.

Members include: 1-800-Flowers.com, Allstate, American Express, Bank Of America, Campbell’s, Chase, Chobani, Choice Hotels, Citi, Colgate-Palmolive, DataXu, Dunkin’ Brands, E*TRADE, Electronic Arts, ESPN, Facebook, Ford, Foursquare, Google, Havas, Hilton, iHeartMedia, InMobi, Johnson & Johnson, Krux, Marriott, MasterCard, McDonald’s, Mondelez, Nestle, OpenMarket, Pandora, Pfizer, Pinterest, PlaceIQ, Procter & Gamble, R/GA, RadiumOne, Razorfish, Samsung, SAP, Sears, Spotify, Starcom, The Coca-Cola Company, The Rubicon Project, The Weather Company, T-Mobile, TUNE, Ubimo, Unilever, Verve, VEVO, Vibes, Visa, Walmart, Wendy’s, xAd , Zurich and many more. The MMA’s global headquarters are located in New York with regional operations Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and Latin America (LATAM). For more information about the MMA please visit www.mmaglobal.com.