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Over the last few months we've reprinted a series of ClickZ Network articles about how companies are itching to bring effective marketing and advertising techniques to mobile devices. There is even an organization, the Mobile Marketing Association, with a mandate to stimulate the growth of wireless marketing, M-commerce, and supporting technologies.

To further this objective the association has created two new committees, Best Practices and Metrics, to better target the 165 million mobile consumers—who actively send 2.5 billion SMS (Short Message Service) messages monthly—in the United States. The U.S. is the second-largest pool of mobile handset users in the world, after China.

The Best Practices committee, led by Enpocket President and COO Mike Baker, aspires to create a set of guidelines and recommendations for the effective and efficient execution of mobile marketing campaigns via SMS, MMS (Multimedia Message Service), wireless web, and handhelds.

According to Baker, "We will work this year to establish solid principles of execution based on domestic and international experiences with the medium to ensure all parties -- brands, advertisers carriers and consumers -- benefit positively from their mobile experience."

As the name implies, the Metrics committee—headed up by Jean Berberich, systems manager for Procter & Gamble and vice-chaired by Irene Waldman of Visa U.S.A.—is to work to establish the parameters for accurate cross-media return-on-investment measurement guidelines for advertisers, brands, and carriers using mobile marketing.

The committee hopes to provide these principles and strategies to the wireless community through the Mobile Marketing Association later this year.

Vice-chair Waldman asserts, "Mobile marketing could be the most effective and personal advertising medium available to brands, and having an universal set of established metrics will give brands the proper tools to measure the medium's potential for outstanding return-on-investment."

The Mobile Marketing Association is the result of the merger of two other organizations (Wireless Advertising Association and Wireless Marketing Association) back in 2002.

Its Executive Director Peter Fuller told ClickZ last month that the group grew accustomed to the addition of one new member per quarter. During the last quarter of 2004, however, that number jumped to 10.

While most members listed on the association’s site are technology vendors, Procter & Gamble is prominently involved (see Metrics Committee chairwoman), as are agencies like Starcom MediaVest Group and Carat Interactive.

Mobile Marketing Association Global Chair Jim Manis predicts, "We will continue to see tremendous growth in mobile marketing this year. The formation of these and other committees will work to drive that growth and provide a stable, efficient and effective mechanism for brands and advertisers to communicate with consumers."