Writing this from the Century Club in London, where Vantage Conferences has just officially launched the Mobile Marketing 08 Awards with a call for entries.
I was disappointed, talking to Vantage boss John McKee, to hear that the Mobile Marketing Conference the company has organised for the past two years will not run this year, owing to a lack of sponsor support. Personally, I thought it was an excellent event, and its a shame to see it go. But at least the awards are still in place, and McKee says he hasnt giving up on staging the conference again in the future.
Launching the awards, David Wheldon, Global Director, Brand & Customer Experience at Vodafone, told the guests he would like to see more involvement from mainstream agencies.
“We really do need to see more mainstream agencies taking part in these awards and delivering innovation Wheldon said. “This is going to be, 10 years from now, I safely predict, the most powerful marketing medium in the world. We are celebrating it early.”
There are 11 categories in the awards, which are sponsored by Vodafone and Yahoo! The categories are as follows:
Best use of mobile in customer relationship marketing.
Best use of mobile in brand building.
Best new offering from a mobile services provider.
Most innnovative use of technology in mobile marketing.
Best creativity in mobile marketing.
Mobile as a b2b tool.
Best use of content in mobile marketing.
Best use of mobile as part of an integrated campaign.
Best use of planning and insight in mobile marketing.
Best use of mobile in events.
Best use of mobile in driving new revenue and sales.
Theres also a Grand prix Award, chosen from among the winners of the other awards by those attending the Awards Dinner on 6 March.
The deadline for entry submissions is 17 December, and the shortlist will be announced during the week of 14 January 2008. Details of how to enter will be posted on the Awards website in the next few days.

David Murphy
Editor