The Mobile Marketing Association has arranged over $1 million in funding to launch new global research into the impact of mobile marketing.

The project, which is believed to be the first global research project of its kind, will test real marketing campaigns to determine the economic value of investing in mobile channels compared to traditional marketing channels. It’s been named SMoX.me: Smart Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness.

Details of the full announcement are below.

MMA secures over USD 1 million for first-ever global cross marketing effectiveness research to measure the impact of mobile

Consortium partners include Vodafone, Pandora and The Weather Channel

London, July 16, 2012 – Today, during the MMA's Mobile CEO & CMO Summit in the Dominican Republic, Greg Stuart, CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), announced that the association has secured over USD 1 million in funding to launch the first-ever global, in-market research project that will evaluate the return on investment that mobile contributes to the marketing mix. Called SMoX.me for Smart Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness, the research will test real in-market marketing campaigns to determine the relative economic value of investing in mobile channels compared to traditional marketing channels.

Stuart previously led the landmark Cross Media Optimization Study (XMOS) series starting in 2002, turning it into the largest advertising industry research program ever conducted working with leading brands including McDonalds, Ford, Colgate, ING & many others. XMOS provided the first-ever opportunity for marketers to determine the optimal mix of internet media, TV, radio and print advertising drawn from real world, in-market results.

"We are extremely happy that the MMA is leading the charge with the Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness Study. With the radical shifts in consumer media consumption all around the world, it is vital that marketers get quantitative guidance from the industry on how to best optimize Mobile in the marketing mix," said Jack Haber, VP, Global Advertising and Digital for Colgate-Palmolive, which was a leading participant in the original Cross Media Study, XMOS. "This research has the potential to transform how marketing budgets are allocated in the same way as XMOS did."