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MMA elects Rajiv Hiranandani and Kunal Bajaj as co-chairs

Hiranandani and Bajaj will drive the MMA agenda aimed at developing the ecosystem and grow the mobile marketing in India

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), which launched its India Local Council in May 2009, has elected Rajiv Hiranandani, co-founder and executive director, Mobile2Win - Altruist and Kunal Bajaj, managing director, BDA Connect as co-chairs.

Hiranandani is also on the board of directors of MMA Asia-Pacific (APAC). He has been in the wireless and media industry for more than 16 years now.

Bajaj was a consultant with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), prior to joining BDA Connect, which offers strategic consulting and investment advisory services in the telecom, media and technology domains.

MMA elects Rajiv Hiranandani and Kunal Bajaj as co-chairs
MMA elects Rajiv Hiranandani and Kunal Bajaj as co-chairs
Before TRAI, Bajaj worked as an independent consultant in the areas of spectrum management policy, rural telecom development, wireless broadband technologies and telecom infrastructure.

Speaking to afaqs!, Hiranandani says, "Both of us will be committed to drive the MMA agenda in India, which is aimed at developing the ecosystem and growing mobile marketing in India."

Both will report to Rohit Dadwal, managing director, MMA APAC.

Sharing some key points of MMA's agenda, Bajaj says, "MMA will bring together brands, advertising agencies, telecom operators and mobile value-added service (VAS) providers on a single platform and facilitate discussions or resolve issues and work towards the growth of mobile marketing in India."

He adds, "The association will develop a universal measurement and metrics system for mobile marketing, to help advertisers and agencies figure out the performance of their mobile marketing campaigns. Guidelines related to consumer privacy and spamming will also be chalked about."

To execute the agenda, MMA will establish a team of 25-30 voluntary members in India, which will approach various mobile marketing players to get associated with MMA. Already, 40 companies are onboard, including Bharti Telesoft, Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Google, Group M, Hungama, Indiagames, Microsoft, Nokia, Reuters, Tata Teleservices, and Yahoo!. MMA will set up its website in India within the next six months.

Hiranandani estimates that the size of mobile marketing in India stands at around Rs 125 crore and is expected to reach Rs 350 crore in the next two to three years. There are more than 400 million mobile phone subscribers in India, according to the data released by TRAI in April 2009.

MMA is the global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. It has more than 700 member companies from over 40 countries around the globe. MMA's global headquarters are in the United States. It has regional branches in North America, Europe, Latin America, West Asia, Africa and the Asia Pacific.

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