Thanks to Guardian Media Network for supporting Meffys 2012 as Platinum Media Partner

Another year, another great Meffy Awards. Teaming up with the Meffy's team as Platinum Media Partner was a perfectly suited collaboration: working to bring together leading media executives from around the world - over 35 countries - and supporting the new categories such as the Social Responsibility & Development Awards, reflects what the Guardian Media Network is all about.

As Platinum Media Partner we hope you had a chance to meet one of our Media Network team and find out more about this rapidly growing platform. In case you didn’t hear, the Guardian Media Network is a unique community designed for media professionals like you. It provides a free stage for you to engage with your peers, keep up to date with and comment on the latest industry developments and gain a first look at tailored jobs.

Membership of the network is totally free and gives you access to a host of exclusive professional benefits, including:

• Exclusive invites to VIP networking events
• Up to the minute comment and industry insight straight to your inbox
• A minimum 20% discount on all associated media and tech events, including the Mobile Business Summit 12
• 50% discount on a Guardian subscription for 3 months
• A first look at top end, tailored media jobs

So what are you waiting for? Join a community of switched on innovators driving change in your sector and make substantial savings on our world renowned events at the same time.

 

Register for free here

Pioneering work in mobile banking in growth markets Hannes Van Rensburg awarded MEF’s Outstanding Contribution Award at the 2012 Meffys

Last week’s Meffys awards once again brought together a mix of the mobile industry’s top industry executives and media for a gala dinner at London’s Park Lane Hotel. The annual event marks a year of mobile innovation and success from companies across the mobile ecosystem and with winners representing all five continents.

A key highlight of the Meffys is the Outstanding Contribution Award which honours an industry pioneer and visionary who has had a seminal impact on mobile content and commerce. This year’s winner reflects MEF’s expanded focus to support growth and innovation within mobile across developed and growth markets recognising Hannes Van Rensburg, CEO of mobile banking pioneers Fundamo.

Van Rensburg joins a prestigious roll call of pioneers who have been recognised by the MEF Global Board, often unsung heroes and visionaries who have helped shape the mobile content and commerce industry, under-pinning its advances with the new technology and business models.

Van Rensburg’s achievements in mobile banking cannot be underestimated. In 1999, he founded Fundamo, developing a secure mobile architecture, the principals of which are still used as the backbone for mobile banking systems today.

Consumers are utilizing multiple screens every day - but how do you reach them?

It's clear that the “battle of the screens" is accelerating and continues to disrupt traditional media and content models. The MultiScreen Summit™ will bring content providers alongside senior brand, agency and entertainment executives to examine the new screen economy being driven by a fundamental shift in the way consumers search, access and share content.


The two day event on 19th & 20th September kicks off the evening before with a VIP Dinner on 18th September hosted by MEF North America. Supported by Impact Mobile, KPMG, OpenMarket, Polar Mobile and Samsung, the dinner is the exclusive chance to meet the executive speakers in an exclusive networking environment before the main event.

The VIP dinner will be served pool-side at the luxurious Loews Hollywood Hotel (Formerly the Renaissance Hotel).

The evening will feature three amazing after dinner speakers:

• Bernie Laramie – Co-Producer, “Atlas Shrugged”; Producer/Co-Producer: “CSI", "Shark", "War of the Worlds" (TV), James Cameron’s “Last Mysteries of the Titanic", "Aliens of the Deep", "Threat Matrix", "Profiler", "Dark Skies" and "Max Headroom"
• Neil Patel - SVP, Content Strategy and Development at The Martin Agency
• Doug Stanley, Multiple Emmy-Award Winning Producer "Deadliest Catch" and CEO/EP Ridgeline Entertainment LLC

The Summit starts at 08.45 AM the following day; Wednesday 19th September and is being chaired by MEF North America Chair Gary Schwartz.

The MultiScreen Summit™ will put you in the room with leading content providers, senior brands, agencies and entertainment executives to stake your claim in the new screen economy.

MEF members speaking at the Summit include Samsung, Turner Broadcasting, OpenMarket, InComm and Impact Mobile.

Our very own Marjorie DeHey, MEF General Manager will also be speaking on the session entitled Monetizing an Engaging Consumer Experience for 2nd Screen Applications on day two of the Summit.

Check out the full program on their website.

Who is Paddy Cullivan?!

MEF continues to demonstrate its commitment to innovation and start-up talent by getting a completely unknown Irish Musical Comedian to host this year's Meffys awards.

Though relatively popular in his home country, Paddy Cullivan was spotted by the Meffys talent scouts at the London Web Summit and they hired him on the spot to present the 9th Annual Meffys awards, along with his own start-up business, the Camembert Quartet.

Paddy assures us he is very committed to the Mobile phone industry, citing the loss of at least four phones a year in nightclubs since the smartphone was invented. He has extensively tested many types of alcoholic beverage on the phone, and finds that white wine is the most effective for rendering it completely useless.

Further asserting his mobile credentials, he tells us he has one crack on his iPhone screen, tweets and shazam's constantly, loves being able to tune his guitar using an app, and becomes agitated when away from his phone for more than twenty minutes. He is extremely excited to be hosting the Meffy's and is composing an opening number that will "put Billy Crystal to shame". The band are even rumoured to be rehearsing ringtones - so expect a wild night of satirical, musical fun.

Don't miss out on what promises to be an unforgettable evening - To get your tickets for the 9th Annual Meffys, head over to the website now!

Interview: Rafael Pellon, MEF LatAm GM

Mobiletime.com - the Brazilian mobile news digest site has posted an extensive interview with MEF LatAm Geneal Manager, Rafael Pellon. In the far ranging discussion Pellon speaks on MEF, the Code of conduct for subscription services in Brazil and the challenges in implementing it, as well as the future of m-commerce in the region and globally. He also talks about the topic of privacy for mobile devices, a key issue for MEF, and discusses the unique perspective facing the South American market.  

Checkout the full interview (in Portuguese) on MobileTime.com.

Record level of entrants for 2012 Meffys as finalists announced

This week, the finalists for the 2012 Meffys were revealed, with MEF noting that that entries were from 35 countries with 25% of them coming from start up companies.

Amongst the lucky finalists, shortlisted by an international panel of over 30 journalists, academics, analysts and VCs, are entrants in six new categories including Consumer Trust and Social Responsibility & Development Awards. Other new categories this year include Publisher on Mobile, Life Tools App, Discovery and Engagement and Social Entertainment App.

The winners of the 2012 Meffys are set to be announced on 12th September 2012 at the Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair at the annual Meffys Gala Awards Dinner, which last year boasted sell out attendance and was hosted by international comedienne Ruby Wax. This year's presenter remains a closely guarded secret, but with tickets selling fast be sure to book yours now.

Rimma Perelmuter, Executive Director at MEF said: “Congratulations to all the companies that have made the shortlist and thank you to everyone participated in Meffys 2012. This year it’s really exciting to see the democratisation of the mobile ecosystem with companies from start-ups, digital agencies, brands and established mobile giants sharing the limelight. We are also delighted to celebrate the pioneering services committed to building consumer transparency as well as sustainability in growth markets with the introduction of new award categories that mark key focus areas for MEF initiatives in 2012.”

For the first time this year, nominees in the four Innovation categories will be given the opportunity to pitch to the C-level executives at the MEF CEO Summit to be held at City Hall, on the day before the Meffys. Guest speakers include executives from companies including Mozilla and Kaspersky as well as the EU Commission. The assembled international CEOs will then vote to determine the most innovative mobile product or service and reward the winner with the CEO Summit Award for Innovation.

Hit the break for the full list of 2012 finalists in the 13 categories, congratulation to all of them, we're looking forward to seeing you in London!

MEF Announces Star line-up for 2012 CEO Summit

MEF has announced the VIP speaker line-up for its 3rd annual MEF CEO Summit, a key event lining up next to the 2012 Global AGM & Board Elections and the Meffys gala awards ceremony this September as part of two days of industry insights, networking and celebration.

Date: 2.30pm, September 11, 2012
Location: London, City Hall

On September 11 City Hall will welcome leading visionaries from across the mobile landscape and beyond to share their unique industry insights around the summit's central theme Navigating Complexity in Times of Change.

The MEF CEO Summit is a free to attend member-only event, strictly limited to one C-level participant per member and uniquely offers attendees the rare chance to meet with fellow industry peers behind closed doors for completely open, non-attributable debate. The guest speakers provide stimulus presentations to kick-off round-table discussions on:

• Disruption to the mobile "old world" 
• Consumer Trust: the biggest game changer?

The Summit will end with a confidential report on the Future of the Mobile Landscape, given by Richard Kramer from equity specialists Arete Research and is followed by a pitching session from the shortlisted winners of the Meffys innovation categories.

MEF member company CEO's have received personal, exclusive invitations to attend. Please ensure your chosen representative has RSVP’d to ceosummit@mefmobile.org.

To see the full line up of speakers, continue reading below.

Perform Global Sports Media Consumption Report 2012 - MEF Members save 15%

Our friends at Perform Group have released their annual Global Sports Media Consumption Report for 2012 - a fascinating study of sports media content consumption and preferences across 10 international markets.

The in depth report attempts to shed light on how sports fans are using the ever-increasing number of media platforms to consume and interact with their favourite sports content. This is essential reading for brands looking to forge deeper relationships with digital sports fans.

MEF members are entitled to an exclusive 15% saving on the full report

This, the second edition of the report provides insight and analysis into how fan engagement with sports coverage is changing, and in particular how attitudes towards new media consumption are developing.

The report, this year expanded to look at more international markets, is a collaboration between Kantar Sport, TV Sports Markets and Perform and examines how sport is consumed via different devices and platforms, how that has changed in the last 12 months and how fans see their consumption patterns changing. Plus new for this year, the report looks into fans attitudes towards brands that sponsor or advertise around sports.
 
The extensive executive summary is available for MEF members to take a look at right now, while the full report is available from Perform - MEF members are entitled to a 15% discount on the cost of the report, head over to their website via our exclusive link now.

Meffys 2012 - Just 4 days to enter!

The deadline for entries to this year's Meffys awards is fast approaching, but there is still time to get your entry to us. In case you need some last minute inspiration, check out MEFTV's interview with one of the head judges, mobile guru Helen Keegan, who shares some great do's and don'ts that may prove invaluable when putting your entry together.

Get your entries to us before the 6pm deadline this Thursday the 19th to be in with a chance to be a part of the mobile industry's most coveted award celebrations.

 

Sign up for our next webinar - Monday 16th July

Hot on the heels of the recent webinar from MEF LatAm on the Code of Conduct for VAS in Brazil, MEF Middle East is set to host another on line thought leadership session on the charged topic of the challenges facing network carriers in the face of OTT content and services.

We have some fantastic guest speakers from both camps, listed below, including representatives from the Qtel Group and Telefonica discussing the advances by network operators to roll out Rich Communication Services (RCS) strategies, and from OTT service providers Nimbuzz and Vopium who will be sharing their market experiences.

Moderated by Eden Zoller, principal analyst of consumer telecoms at Ovum, the webinar promises to encourage some lively debate on whether a mutually beneficial partnership is feasible, or if direct competition is inevitable.

Sign up for the free webinar

Date: Monday, 16th July 2012
Time: 11am GMT, 2pm GST

Moderator

• Eden Zoller, Principal Analyst Consumer Telecoms, Ovum

Speakers

• Rouzbeh Pasha- Qtel Group
• Benjamin Keyser, Product Manager and Head of Global OTT Products - Telefonica
• Jigar Budhdev, General Manager, MENA - Nimbuzz!
• Tanveer Sharif, CEO – Vopium

 Check out the MEF Website for more details