It’s official! MMA Germany launches to educate marketers in the #5 biggest mobile ad spend market worldwide

We are excited about developments that have global significance for brands and marketers, and we are passionate about grasping the opportunities to educate and advance the market for everyone. Our official launch today — with experts and expertise from founding member companies including: adsquare, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, SAP XM, Smaato, Telefónica Deutschland and Unilever — does both.

Today the MMA Germany steps up to meet the need of brands and marketers for education and guidance, a requirement that is growing almost as quickly as the opportunities for growth in the German market are multiplying.

By way of background, nearly a decade ago, research firm eMarketer called Germany the “sleeping giant” of mobile marketing. Fast forward, and Germany — today ranked the fifth largest ad spending market in the world, the second largest market in Europe — is clearly waking up to the massive mobile opportunity and exceeding global expectations for growth, investment and innovation.

Our decision to launch is well and carefully timed. At one level, the news comes on the heels of Dmexco — the leading international trade show and conference for the digital economy that this year attracted a record number of 50,700 visitors to its doors in Cologne and clearly underlines Germany’s leading position and potential as a powerhouse market for mobile marketing and advertising.

At the other end of the spectrum, our decision to launch is prompted by internal numbers that suggest Germany is poised for impressive growth that far outpaces current analyst forecasts. According to Smaato, a global real-time advertising platform for mobile publishers and app developers, and a founding member of the MMA Germany, mobile ad spending in Germany is showing “accelerated growth compared to its European neighbors.”

“Our mission is to accelerate the transformation and innovation of marketing through mobile. As consumer engagement on ‘Smartphones & Co.’ explodes and more brands invest heavily into this channel, the MMA is the right platform for sharing practical know-how and actionable insights to benefit the business ecosystem in Germany and beyond,” says Mark Wächter, Mobile Strategy Consultant at MWC.mobi and chairman of the MMA Germany.

To facilitate greater understanding and education around how brands and marketers can successfully use mobile to connect, engage and sell to consumers, the MMA Germany has organized a program of thought leadership events and seminars slated to kick-off on October 27 in Berlin. The organization is also today releasing a companion presentation on Slideshare providing insights into mobile ad spend and consumer behavior in Germany as part of a wider effort to curate key data points and foster broader discussion around the massive mobile marketing opportunities Germany offers.

We’re excited about the news — and the impact we can have. Here’s what our other MMA members have to say:

Daniel Rieber, VP Marketing at adsquare and Vice-Chair at MMA Germany: “For a fast growing German company like adsquare the MMA is a great opportunity to educate the market, meet potential clients and partners and broaden the global network. Mobile Marketing has evolved into a mainstream channel and the MMA’s mission is to redefine the market’s perception of its benefits and use.”

René Bellack, Chief Expert Business Development at SAP XM and board member of the MMA Germany: “Our ultra-connected society, where smartphones are connecting the different worlds of e-commerce and the bricks-and-mortar business at the Point-of-Sales, requires a new thinking in marketing and media planning. The ecosystem is increasing in complexity and the role of Germany is increasing in importance. The MMA Germany is needed to establish a joint industry approach, leverage the opportunities of mobile and drive transformation in digital marketing — together.”

Ragnar Kruse, Co-Founder and CEO of Smaato and board member of the MMA Germany: “Our membership of MMA Germany helps Smaato to play a leadership role in the mobile ecosystem and collaborate with highly influential digital marketing thought leaders around the world.”

Simon Dean, Head of Media Services at Telefónica Deutschland and board member of the MMA Germany: “The vision of Telefonica Media Services is to develop mobile advertising in Germany to a yet unreached level of relevance and efficiency for all market partners and consumers. We see our founding membership at MMA Germany as an integral part of bringing this vision closer to reality. Germany needs the MMA to fast-track the development of the mobile advertising landscape because one of the many strengths of MMA is to especially integrate brands into this process.”

Reach out if you want to help in our efforts to accelerate the transformation and innovation of marketing through mobile, driving business growth with closer and stronger consumer engagement. Email us at info AT mmagermany DOT org, and be sure to follow us on Twitter @mmagermanyorg.