22 October 2009

Sending Out an SMS: Charities Prepare To Go Mobile

Date:Wednesday 4 November 2009
Time: 18:30
Location: The Crown Tavern
Entry: for charities £5 on the door (please register). For others £10 in advance paid online and £15 on the door.

Register for a place here >>

Although charities have been slow to pick up the potential offered by mobile the barriers to adoption are crumbling. With a growing number and range of successful case studies, the removal of VAT on donations by mobile (see charitytext.org) and with the almost total ubiquity of mobile phones, charities need to take a close look at how to make the best of mobile.

Speakers:
  • Mike Short - VP O2 & MDA
  • Robert Thurner - Incentivated
  • Andrew Jackson - Head of Client Services, Mobile Interactive Technology
  • Joe Saxton - founder and driver of ideas at nfpSynergy will talk about 'Why charities are a great business opportunity for the mobile industry'. Joe is author of the report published in July 'Sending out an SMS'.
Following the speakers there will be questions and discussion and lots of time for networking.

Register for a place here >>

This event is jointly organised by 160characters and the Mobile Entertainment Forum.

21 October 2009

Free Smart Pipe Enablers Webinar


If your company is looking to drive revenue by using the unique capabilities of the mobile platform, then this webinar is a must.

This is the second webinar in our series on enablers. Having previously set out the background to network enablers, we are now looking to the content community to present its position.

Hear the latest from representatives at the BBC, Yell and Gracenote who will explain how the smart enabler services currently provided by network operators allow them to deliver content with increased relevancy and reliability.

Mobile Resource Management solutions developer, Xora, will demonstrate a real life network enabler, whilst senior executives from O2 and Vodafone will outline the enablers they are developing and now they are working with content players to create compelling end-user products & services.

O2 and Vodafone senior executives will be on hand to explain the enablers they are developing and how they are working with content players to create compelling end-user products & services.


Speakers Confirmed include:

Mark Kortekaas

Controller for BBC Audio & Music Interactive & Mobile, BBC

Ty Roberts

Founder and CTO, Gracenote

Glyn Povah

Head of Content Marketing, Telefonica O2

Ray De Silva

Principle Product Manager, Enabler Commercial Partnerships, Vodafone Group

David Pearce

Head of Mobile Services, Yell

Robert Juncker

CTO, Xora


For further information please visit: www.m-e-f.org/enablers, or contact:

Suhail Bhat - suhail@m-e-f.org
Christian Rouffaert - christian.rouffaert@accenture.com

12 October 2009

Mobile media industry predicts revenue growth of 33% for the next year

MEF’s third Business Confidence Index (BCI), compiled by KPMG, shows us that the $32bn global entertainment market industry remains quietly confident about its continued growth, despite the economic challenges faced globally. An average revenue growth of 33% has been predicted for the coming year, which is an increase of 6% on that being predicted at the beginning of 2009.

Commenting on the findings, Andrew Bud, Global Chair of MEF, said: “The latest findings demonstrate that the BCI continues to offer us invaluable insight into the state of our industry. The economic downturn has proved challenging for us all but despite this, overall confidence in the growth of the market remains steady.

A 6% increase in the predicted growth of the market since the beginning of the year shows that despite a general downturn and a degree of belt-tightening in some areas, any remaining uncertainty is offset by a sense of optimism within the industry looking forward. This quiet confidence and positive outlook suggests that we are going to see some exciting opportunities developing within our industry.”

Rimma Perelmuter, Executive Director at MEF, added that: “The results point to a divide between the established and emerging markets. Our members in the established markets such as Western Europe and North America are forecasting relatively stable revenues but see emerging markets such as Central & Latin America, as well as India, driving proportionately larger revenue increases for the coming year. With the majority of respondents also telling us that their actual performance for the last quarter was either in line with or better than budgeted, the industry has demonstrated resilience and confidence of heading in the right direction. ”

Mark Harding, Director of Digital Content at KPMG, who analysed the survey findings, stated that: “Paid for content is still a big revenue generator for the mobile media sector, with respondents predicting that 63% of their revenue over the next quarter will come from both subscription and one off purchases. Games, video, music, social networking and infotainment continue to lead the way.

The survey results also show that the well publicised growth of applications is developing into tangible revenue streams. 14% of all revenue is now projected to come from applications, with an expectation that over half of this revenue will be generated through consumers buying them. This is a new and fast growing revenue stream for the industry. These results demonstrate what can be achieved through a positive consumer experience and that consumers are willing to pay for content they value.”

About the research

The Mobile Entertainment Forum ‘Business Confidence Index’ (BCI) was launched in January 2009 to analyse revenue and business trends in the $32bn mobile entertainment industry.

The responses to the BCI survey, which was completed by MEF member companies, are analysed by KPMG. MEF members were surveyed from across the mobile entertainment value chain, from operators to content owners, billing aggregators and service providers. MEF members were asked a total of fifteen questions relating to their confidence in the mobile entertainment value chain. Questions relating to revenue, headcount and marketing decisions were asked alongside those about the confidence in different types of mobile content.

The MEF BCI is conducted on a quarterly basis, with a report on the findings of the Business Confidence Index available to MEF members at www.m-e-f.org

07 October 2009

Neeraj Roy wins Outstanding Contribution Award at ME Awards 2009

Neeraj Roy, CEO of Hungama Mobile and Chair of Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Asia, became the fourth winner of the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Mobile Entertainment’ accolade at the 2009 ME Awards on 1 October 2009.

He received the prize not just for building India’s largest mobile content company, but also for his commitment as MEF Asia Chair to driving the global mobile entertainment industry forward. The ME Awards, hosted by Mobile Entertainment magazine, reward innovation and creativity in the mobile content sector.

Neeraj is the second MEF board member to receive this prestigious award following Ralph Simon’s win in 2007. Ralph is a music industry veteran who founded MEF Americas whilst Neeraj was instrumental in the formation of MEF Asia. With previous winners Ray Anderson from Bango and Anssi Vanjoki from Nokia the Outstanding Contribution award has gone to a MEF member every year since the award’s inception.

“The MEF Board works with great commitment to support the global growth of mobile entertainment, shape its regulation and deliver competitive advantage to members, and Neeraj has been a crucial member for many years. The Board cares passionately about this $32 billion industry and invests a great deal of time and expertise in leading MEF to further the industry’s interests in every way possible, so it is gratifying to see this work being recognised. We are honoured to have Neeraj as Chair of MEF Asia." - Andrew Bud, MEF Chairman.

The ME Awards ceremony took place at the Royal Garden Hotel in London last Thursday, attracting guests from over 120 companies in media, technology and entertainment from around the world. Other MEF member winners on the night include:
"I’m so pleased to be able to give this award to Neeraj, one of the hardest working and most respected guys in the business. He has not only built Hungama into India’s biggest mobile content company – which is itself an excellent advertisement for the industry – but he also works tirelessly for the MEF and other organisations to fly the flag for our market. He got a fantastic reception last night, and thoroughly deserved it."Tim Green, executive editor at ME Magazine.