Laura Marriott, executive director of the global trade body, and Nick Wiggin, long-time chair of the UK version, were present to host discussions. But, at the same time, Marriott explained a reorganisation of the MMA, which some consider overdue.
Marriott says: "The MMA is restructuring its global organisation into regional chapters. The MMA has current chapters in North America and Asia-Pacific, and will be launching EMEA in March, followed by Central and Latin America in late Q3 2007. All governance and administration will occur at the regional level. The MMA will continue its local initiatives through special interest groups in all applicable countries."
She adds: "MMA members in the UK will now have access to the benefits of the EMEA and the global chapter of the MMA. The MMA UK board of directors will remain for one year."
Meanwhile, Wiggin, who has chaired the UK body for the past three years, is preparing to leave his post. The position will pass to a new mobile luminary later this year, along with the deputy chair's role and several board positions, according to the results of elections announced at the beginning of this month.
The changes, according to some, couldn't have come at a better time. The industry is at tipping point as the penetration of 3G phones grows and mobile advertising is, at last, being considered as a serious channel for advertisers and media owners. But, forecasts for its growth demonstrate how unsure the market remains of its potential.
While some are predicting an annual market worth as much as £5 billion in the next few years, others suggest £500 million is more realistic.
Effective body
Commentators say that, to help mobile reach the upper echelons of people's expectations, it needs an effective trade body, especially in the UK where the channel is at an advanced level and digital media spend is ahead of other territories.
But, while the MMA's reputation is good globally, and in the UK it has built well-regarded codes of practice and helped to evangelise mobile as a marketing channel, some argue that it has a long way to go to put mobile alongside the web as part of media plans.
Jeremy Flynn, co-founder of mobile video start-up D2See and former head of commercial partnerships at Vodafone, says: "For mobile to work as a medium, the people with inventory need to get together, and rate cards and response mechanics need to be developed.
"The MMA's main weakness has been in developing these industry-wide metrics that allow brands to understand mobile as a media channel so they can say 'OK, so mobile offers this, but how does that compare with, say, print?'," he adds.
Under the new MMA model, large local markets like the UK will have their own representation and, here, the sector is keen for the body to begin tackling some complex issues. One, as Wiggin agrees, is the development of media metrics.
"Brands need to understand what the measures of success are in this space and network operators need to get together to understand how they can offer those metrics across their networks," he says.
But, while Wiggin is pleased to see more involvement from the networks and hopes operators will deliver more cross-network initiatives. There are fears that the MMA's development will be led by the media owners to the detriment of the channel.
Voice of buyers
Robert Thurner, commercial director of mobile agency Incentivated, reckons: "It is important that both the content and the language of the MMA's agenda is informed by the advertisers and their agencies, rather than the operators.
"These bodies, as we've seen in other media, tend to be dominated by media owners and therefore miss an opportunity by not factoring in the voice of the buyers. Without them, the market we are trying to sell will be limited," he adds.
There are also doubts as to how well the new international structure will work. While some issues cross national divides, the feeling is that local markets face different challenges and, in Europe in particular, are at different stages of development.
Marriott argues the case for a global body that has a model that can be applied to regions. She says: "MMA members, including operators, brands, agencies and technology enablers, are requesting global guidelines and best practices. The regional and global organisation allows for better collaboration to drive global initiatives and replicate successes in all markets.
She adds: "A global organisation also helps to maintain common vision, mission and strategic imperatives in all markets. MMA member companies will now have better access to the successes of members in other regions and broader exposure across all geographies."
But, few expect that a global model can be successfully applied to such diverse markets as those in Europe.
In the UK, where mobile is relatively advanced, the sector is in a position to begin making its case to advertisers and their agencies. Few other European markets can claim to have reached such an advanced stage in discussions.
Jonathan Bass, founder and MD of Incentivated, was in one of the meetings with Marriott at 3GSM where the role of the EMEA regional chapter was discussed. Like many agencies, it is unsure where to place its bet.
The IAB is looking to bring mobile into its own remit, while the Institute of Direct Marketing and the Direct Marketing Association also cover the channel. "From our point of view, we have to cover all bases and membership (of the MMA) is something we are reviewing," adds Thurner.
To convince people like Bass, the new-look MMA will need to demonstrate that it understands the detailed challenges facing local, as well as global and regional markets. Then it needs to prove it can win the hearts and minds of advertisers rather than just those operators and mobile insiders that it needs to fund it.