BestBuy, Polo Ralph Lauren and OMD Ignition Factory Join Mobile Marketing Association Leadership as Honorary North America Board Members

NEW YORK, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating the continued uptake in mobile marketing by leading brands and agencies, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today announced the addition of BestBuy, Polo Ralph Lauren and OMD Ignition Factory as three new honorary members of its North America Board of Directors.  Serving for the remainder of the 2009-2010 term, the newly appointed board members are:

• Tiffany Gerhardt, Senior Marketing Manager, Emerging Capabilities for BestBuy
• Jeff Minsky, Director, NEXT Emerging Media for OMD Ignition Factory
• Anthony Romano, Vice President, Interactive Media for Polo Ralph Lauren

"With leading agencies and brands increasingly taking up mobile marketing as part of their overall marketing strategies, the MMA Board is thrilled to add BestBuy, Ralph Lauren and OMD to our leadership roster," said MMA North America Managing Director Michael Becker.  "Their continued commitment to our ever-evolving industry and use of mobile marketing clearly helps fuel the marketplace, and adds significant value for our membership across North America and the world."

"I'm incredibly excited about joining the MMA Board.  It's such a great opportunity to roll up the sleeves and collaborate with other mobile leaders.  At Ralph Lauren, we're passionate about mobile and believe in its potential to connect customers to brands in ways that no other channel can do it.  With that said, an active involvement in the MMA will really help fuel our ability to be innovative, which can only help drive growth for the space overall," said Romano.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of the MMA's news of its restructuring last month to create a global organization operating within four regions: (Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and North America (NA).  Adding BestBuy, Ralph Lauren and OMD to the North America Board creates an even more impactful brain trust for MMA members that are ultimately shaping the industry in the North America region and worldwide.

The MMA's current North American Board of Directors currently includes:

North American Executive Committee

• Chair: Maria Mandel, Executive Director of Digital Innovation, Ogilvy Interactive
• Vice Chair: TBD
• Treasurer: Louis Gump, VP Mobile, CNN
• Secretary: Paul Palmieri, President & CEO, Millennial Media
• Chair Emeritus: Tom Daly, Group Manager, Strategy & Planning, The Coca-Cola Company
• MMA: Michael Becker, North America Managing Director

North America Board of Directors

• Anthony Romano, Vice President, Interactive Media, Polo Ralph Lauren
• Cindy Sullivan, Product & Project Management, Sprint-Nextel
• David Katz, Vice President, Mobile Advertising and Publisher Services, Yahoo!
• David Oberholzer, VP, Corporate Development, Brightkite
• Diana Pouliot, Director, Mobile Advertising, Google
• Greg McCastle, Senior Vice President, Advanced Ad Solutions, AT&T
• Jack Philbin, President and Co Founder, Vibes Media
• Jay Emmet, General Manager Open Market
• Jeffrey Glass, Partner, Bain Capital Ventures
• Jeff Minsky, Director, NEXT Emerging Media, OMD Ignition Factory
• Julia Resnick, Vice President, Mobile Media Solutions, The Nielsen Company
• Richard Williams, Executive Director, Digital Media Operations, Verizon
• Tiffany Gerhardt, Senior Manager Customer Insights, BestBuy
• Venetia Espinoza, Group Manager, Mobile Applications and Partner Programs, T-Mobile USA

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The 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 40 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, Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit http://www.mmaglobal.com/.  

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090715/LA46363LOGO)

SOURCE Mobile Marketing Association

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