Global Mobile Technology Users Overwhelmed by Device Features; Under-Whelmed by Buying and User Experience
Milestone CMO Council/GMI Study of nearly 15,000 Consumers in Nearly 37 Countries Shows Developing Nations Are New Power Users of Wireless Technology; Report Highest
Device Dependency and Greatest Receptivity to Latest Mobile Applications

BARCELONA, Spain (February 12, 2007) – “Function Fatigue” is afflicting mobile technology users worldwide and tops several consumer issues negatively impacting the embrace of new wireless devices and services, reports the CMO Council’s Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME).

The CMO Council’s Global Mobile Mindset Audit™, a milestone study of some 15,000 consumers in 37 countries, shows that “too many functions I did not use” is the number one device problem in all regions of the world. Compounding this complaint were disappointments in the early buying and ongoing ownership experience. Most notably, consumers gave low marks to retailers and carriers for lack of product demonstrations, sales associate knowledge, as well as slow service at point-of-sale.

Powered by GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), the CMO Council research initiative is part of an extensive authority leadership program by FAME, a strategic interest group of top marketers, associations and experts drawn from all sectors of the wireless ecosystem. Supported by Palm, Inc. and the GSM Association the study’s early findings were presented here today at the opening of the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.

Key findings show that:

• Internet destinations have eclipsed friends and family as the most important source for researching and selecting devices
• There is a new generation of mobile technology power users in developing nations
• Function fatigue and feature frustration among users will challenge device makers to improve usability and education
• Global mobile users, particularly in developing countries, are willing to pay for a wide range of mobile content and service offerings
• Pain begins at point-of-purchase as users see lack of demos, product knowledge and slow service as problematic at retail
• Cost of service along with poor battery life tops the Irritation Index globally
• Americans and Western Europeans are most bothered by loud cell phone conversations
• Paranoia of phone and data loss/theft is a key concern along with the annoyance of disconnects and drop-offs

“Clearly, wireless operators, device manufacturers and sales channels need to be much closely aligned and integrated in creating a simpler, more satisfying and predictable user experience,” notes Dave Murray, director of the CMO Council’s FAME group.

“We saw profound variations between countries, cultures, user demographics and genders,” observes Michael Allenson, executive vice president at GMI, which fielded the survey through their research panel of six million people in nearly 200 countries worldwide. “There are huge opportunities in both established and emerging markets to extend the value, utility and appeal of mobile devices and services.”

Most Surprising
Most surprisingly, the Global Mobile Mindset Audit reveals that consumers in developing countries are the new power users of wireless technology and report the highest levels of device dependency and greatest receptivity to the latest mobile applications and services.

While a global economic powerhouse, the U.S. lags all other regions in mobile device ownership, advanced feature adoption, intent to buy and dependency. There is also less interest in personalizing devices with ring tones, wallpaper, and accessories.

Given the opportunity to reengineer their own devices, mobile users would first upgrade memory and storage and reduce the form factor; then improve design and styling, and make the device simpler and easier to use; and lastly, improve voice quality. 

Design innovator, Palm, Inc., which has received accolades for the user friendliness of its new Treo Series and Palm operating system, sees usability as a critical area of focus and investment. “Given the growing global dependency on mobile devices for all manner of business and lifestyle-essential interactions, our industry needs to take heed of these findings and apply our best resources to the needs and requirements of all customers worldwide,” notes Roy Bedlow, VP of Marketing, EMEA of Palm, Inc.

“Ironically, most purchases are made through carriers and specialty cell phone stores where you would expect better customer handling and expertise, states Murray. “There appears to be a real opportunity for device makers and carriers to differentiate themselves by improving the buying experience,” he adds.

About the Global Mobile Mindset Audit™
The CMO Council's Global Mobile Mindset Audit is the largest survey of mobile technology users in the world with nearly 15,000 participants across some 37 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa. Powered by GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), the research initiative is part of an extensive authority leadership program by the CMO Council's Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), a strategic interest group of top marketers, associations and experts drawn from all sectors of the wireless ecosystem. An executive summary of the study, which has been funded by Palm and other industry leaders, is available now for download from CMO Council, GMI and participating partner web sites. A full report and accompanying data sets will also available to the mobile technology industry later this month.

20,000 Mobile Users, 40 Countries, One "Global Mobile" Mindset
Definitive study from CMO Council, set for release at 3GSM conference in Barcelona, offers first full look at how mobile communications are enabling lifestyle changes worldwide

WHAT: The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and its market research partner, GMI, will release key findings from the definitive study, “Get to Know Those on the Go,” a survey of 20,000 early adopter mobile wireless device users in 40 countries around the world. Key topics include:

• Habit-altering technologies such as mobile payment services, speech recognition, GPS tracking and media-rich messaging
• Features & functionality: what users have, what they use, what they want
• Product redesign: What’s headed down the pike
• Functionality, ease-of-use, cost: The practical issues behind the innovation

WHERE: 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona, Spain

WHEN: Monday, February 12, 2007; 9:40am CET – 10:40am CET

The CMO Council, joined by its sibling organization FAME (Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience; www.fameforusers.org) and the GSM Association, will officially release the key findings of the ground-breaking study,“Get to Know Those on the Go,” on Monday, February 12, 2007, at the 3GSM World Congress.

The study is part of the CMO Council’s 2007 thought leadership initiative, “Global Mobile Mindset,” a comprehensive analysis of mobile device deployment, extending beyond brand and service preference to drill into psychographic motivations and behaviors behind consumer usage. The research taps into GMI’s 6-million-consumer, 200-country base to develop wide-ranging conclusions, analyses and recommendations.

FAME “Global Mobile Mindset” partners on the initiative include PALM, GMI and the GSM Association.

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL FEBRUARY 12, the CMO Council will offer a preview of the key findings and discuss related issues with interested media.

Key Findings:

• Brian T. Regan Vice President, CMO Council
• Digs Majumder Vice President, CMO Council

Technology: Issues, implications - What’s here, what’s coming:

• PALM

Methodology, country differences:

• Michael Allenson Senior Vice President, GMI

McGruff the Crime Dog Calls for Mass Immunization of America's Computers to Combat Cyber Crime
Broad-based Industry Coalition Backs Up McGruff with ByteCrime.org Web Site, Tips, Tools and Techniques Designed to Protect Kids and Families from Cyber Crooks, Predators and Other Online Threats and Hazards

NEW YORK (October 11, 2006) – Everyone’s favorite tough-talking crime fighter, McGruff the Crime Dog, is challenging Americans to protect their digital assets and real-world identities by getting educated about the ever-evolving dangers that lurk in cyberspace.

“Here’s my challenge to each and every computer user,” says McGruff. “Immunize the computers you use. Go to ByteCrime.org and get the tools and information necessary to protect yourself. Download the Mind What You Do Online booklet. Learn about threats, follow the checklists to make sure you know how to use the Internet safely and put the right protective solutions in place.”

McGruff is calling on his friends in the media to help him get the word out as he takes to the streets of New York City. Today he will ring the closing bell at The NASDAQ Stock Market, the largest U.S. electronic stock market, which posts an average daily volume of $46.5 billion and over 5 million executions a day. Given the amount of volume that NASDAQ averages, it is imperative for broker/dealers to maintain high security standards.

In an environment where 77 percent of young people are contacted by online predators by age 14 (Crimes Against Children Research Center), approximately seven million consumers per year are victims of identity theft (Identity Theft Resource Center), and more than one-third of the U.S. population has been affected by data compromises over the last 18 months (National Crime Prevention Council), those in the “digital know” are glad to see McGruff taking on this new challenge.

“Take A Bite Out Of Cyber Crime” is a joint initiative of the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), a leader in crime prevention since 1982; the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, a global organization of 2,500 senior marketers at leading corporations; and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), a group of mobile technology and service providers. The program is being underwritten by leading technology and media companies including Comcast, CNET.com, Intel, McAfee, VeriSign and Gannett’s USA TODAY. Also lending their support to the program are the Girl Scouts of the USA, the U.S. Internet Industry Association, TRUSTe, Internet Content Rating Association, CTIA and Wireless Foundation. Companies interested in contributing are encouraged to join the campaign, which will reach millions of computer users in homes, schools, businesses and remote Internet access locations nationwide.

Phase One of the “Take A Bite Out Of Cyber Crime” campaign includes:

• A Security Center at www.ByteCrime.org which provides detailed information about how individuals and small businesses can protect themselves from online threats.
• A downloadable booklet, Mind What You Do Online, to educate adults and kids about how to stay safe when using the Internet at home, at work, in remote locations and on the road. Readers will find smart lists detailing what they need to know, safety checklists to make sure they’re fully protected and more. The campaign will provide hundreds of thousands of booklets to the public via multiple online and physical distribution channels.

• A major public service advertising campaign around the issue of security awareness, featuring
  • Print and online advertising courtesy of USA TODAY (5.2 million daily readers and 7.6 million unique monthly Internet visitors),
  • Public Service Announcements broadcast via Comcast (23.3 million cable subscribers and 10 million broadband Internet users),
  • Expert guidance from prominent subject matter experts and computer safety expertise from McAfee
  • Expert editorial content and tips from CNET.com.

• Free downloads of McAfee SiteAdvisor, which clearly identifies potentially dangerous Websites using intuitive red, yellow and green icons that empower online users to decide what to browse and what to avoid.
• Discounts on McAfee’s powerful Internet Security Suite, which guards against viruses, spyware, hackers, spam, scams and unsavory online content, providing Internet users all the protection they need in a single suite.
• A 15-day free trial of a VeriSign SSL Certificate, the industry standard for establishing an encrypted communications channel and a critical component in preventing the interception of confidential information.

• In-person McGruff visits in communities around the country, during fairs, festivals, school events, sports games and more.

“The time is now for American families and businesses to take control of their digital safety and empower themselves to take a stand against cyber crime,” says NCPC President and CEO Alfonso E. Lenhardt. “Our educational and computer security tools give people the resources and information they need to combat cyber criminals.”

McGruff, a figure that 75 percent of adults and 90 percent of children recognize, will keep a high profile at the four-day Digital Life event, which takes place at the Javits Center in New York City from October 12 th to 15 th. The show is “dedicated to educating consumers on what the digital lifestyle means in every aspect of life.” Intel, a sponsor of the “Take A Bite Out Of Cyber Crime” campaign, will host McGruff at its booth for much of the day, where he will hand out materials and pose for pictures with guests. McGruff will also be making other surprise appearances in the city of New York and soon embark on personal visits to communities throughout the country.

“Because so many people know and like McGruff, his involvement in the fight against cyber crime will motivate consumers to actually take the steps they need to protect themselves online,” says Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. “The new site, ByteCrime.org, is a unique resource that’s not only easy to use but also contains a rich range of content, resources and links for visitors to get better at securing their digital life.”

Some additional facts and trends related to cyber safety:

• 81 percent of home computers lack core protection (National Cyber Security Alliance)
• Computer crime is estimated to cost $67 billion a year (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
• While 96 percent of consumers have heard of spyware, only 28 percent are aware of what it does (National Cyber Security Alliance, NCSA)
• About 68 percent of consumers keep sensitive information such as personal correspondence, professional records, health, and/or financial information on personal computers and 74 percent use the Internet at home for “sensitive” transactions such as banking, stock trading or reviewing personal medical information (NCSA)
• 23 million US homes have wireless home networks (Jupiter Research), but 47 percent of those homes do not have security encryption (NCSA)

About the National Crime Prevention Council
The National Crime Prevention Council is a private, nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to be the nation’s leader in helping people keep themselves, their families and their communities safe from crime. NCPC manages public service advertising under the National Citizens’ Crime Prevention Campaign—symbolized by McGruff the Crime Dog® and his “Take A Bite Out Of Crime®” slogan—and acts as secretariat for the Crime Prevention Coalition of America, more than 360 national, federal, state, and local organizations representing thousands of constituents who are committed to preventing crime. For more information on crime prevention issues, visit www.ncpc.org.

About the CMO Council
The CMO Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. More than 2,500 top marketing executives are represented on the CMO Council worldwide, accounting for well over $70 billion in aggregated annual marketing spend. Visit the CMO Council website to find out about the initiatives geared to address corporate marketing challenges at www.cmocouncil.org

More Bark, New "Byte" for Crime Dog McGruff; New Campaign Aims to Take a Bite Out of Cyber Crime
Top Brands and Media Form Coalition to Generate Broad Public Awareness of Information Security Issues Via TV, Radio, Print, P-O-S and the Web

Washington, DC (Sept. 12, 2006) – The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) today announces a new “Take a Bite Out of Cyber Crime” public awareness campaign (www.bytecrime.org) funded by a coalition of private sector partners who are leaders in their respective industries. Featuring its popular McGruff the Crime Dog character, the campaign will help empower and rally millions of computer and digital device users in the battle against the continually growing plague of computer viruses, worms, spam, spyware, phishing, identity theft and online predators.

The campaign is a joint initiative of the NCPC, a leader in crime prevention since 1982, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, a global organization of 2,500 senior marketers at leading corporations, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), a special interest group of the CMO Council.

The program is sponsored and supported by a private sector coalition of leading brand marketers and media companies including: Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), CNET Network (NASDAQ: CNET), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), McAfee (NYSE: MFE), USATODAY division of Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) and VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN). The coalition will soon welcome additional marketers to help educate families, children, and teachers, as well as small and medium-sized businesses about how to avoid falling victim to the many blended digital threats that exist today.

“Information security has gone beyond warding off annoying spam and hacker intrusions - it’s now about protecting our identities, and our finances, from thieves that exist specifically to commit cyber crime,” said NCPC President and CEO Alfonso E. Lenhardt. “We look forward to contributing our expertise and our prevention icon, McGruff, in the fight to protect adults and children from cyber crime.”

The problems are serious and widespread, according to recent studies and reports.

• 81 percent of home computers lack core protection (National Cyber Security Alliance)
• More than 100 million people, a third of the US population, have been affected by data compromises over the last 18 months (NCPC)
• U.S. consumers are more worried about identity theft and fraud than about personal safety or terrorist attacks (CMO Council)
• Computer crime is estimated to cost $67 billion a year (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

The McGruff Take a Bite Out of Cyber Crime campaign will:

• Increase public awareness of the problem and drive a majority of America’s computer-using households to visit the campaign’s web site at www.bytecrime.org, which will be chock full of information, tools, and software that people can use to help protect their digital assets and real-world identities
• Develop an extensive public service announcement campaign related to cyber security and safety that will reach a wide audience via print, online, radio and TV
• Distribute 500,000 educational booklets through digital downloads and other channels
• Train 20,000 elementary and middle school students at 5,000 schools and hundreds of boys and girls clubs
• Mobilize leading basketball, ice hockey and soccer sports franchises to mount “Guard Your HomeNet with McGruff” programs
• Leverage National Crime Prevention and Computer Learning month with widely publicized McGruff visits to a broad range of events, including the Digital Life exposition at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York in October

“We’re excited about the impact and potential of this coalition campaign to bring McGruff to the cyber crime scenes of America,” said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. “McGruff is a legendary character with enduring appeal and credibility. The media, sports franchise, education, crime prevention and private sector partners involved in this initiative have formidable reach and access to audiences at risk to having their digital lives compromised. As a result, we expect to put more bite into the fight against cyber crime in the months ahead."

More Businesses Realizing the Imperative for SMS as a Strategic Means of Enterprise Alerts, Clickatell and CMO Council Survey Reveals
Firms Cite Text Messaging's Immediacy, Ease of Use and Global Reach for Making Short Message Service a Critical Business Focus for the Enterprise

San Mateo , CA , April 3, 2006 – Clickatell, Inc., the premier global mobile message carrier, and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council today announced the release of the findings of a strategic text messaging survey that highlights corporate messaging trends across new devices, gateways and applications. The findings indicate that Short Message Service (SMS) mobile text messaging has blossomed into a critical mechanism enabling enterprises and governments to instantly send urgent alerts and notifications to support customer service, marketing, emergency management, and other time-critical business functions. Further, half of the companies surveyed expect to increase their usage of SMS in the coming year due to the immediacy, mobility, and affordability that the medium offers.

Four hundred and fifty professionals worldwide responded to Clickatell’s commissioned study, which was conducted by the CMO Council, a global affinity group of senior marketing executives and brand decision makers, and the Forum for the Advancement of the Mobile Experience (FAME). Respondents, who include a mix of Clickatell customers and non-customers with job functions from operations to marketing to IT, represent a wide range of industries and global regions interested in the advancement of text messaging.

Key Findings:

• An overwhelming majority consider text messaging to be a key means to send alerts and notifications (83 percent).
• More than seven out of ten respondents said they have used text messaging for business purposes.
• Of these, more than a third said they used it primarily for customer service and support. Marketing and emergency management uses followed closely behind.
• More than a third of respondents (37 percent) said they would increase their usage from the previous year.

These findings are consistent with other industry data that shows rapidly growing text messaging, expected to be a $50 billion market by 2010, according to Portio Research.  IDC reports that text messaging traffic will blaze the wireless messaging trail for the United States and will soar to 47 billion messages per year globally by 2008. 

“The survey reinforces market intelligence indicating that text messaging has become a critical means for enterprises and government organizations to quickly connect with targeted local, regional and even global audiences,” said Pieter de Villiers, CEO of Clickatell, Inc. “Real-time delivery, wide geographic coverage, ease of use and a robust, secure and reliable message delivery gateway are helping enterprises and government organizations to instantly reach people on the move through the use of relevant, well-timed and targeted alerts and notifications.”

The industries that respondents said would derive the most value from text messaging include: Telecommunications (58 percent); Information Technology (56 percent); Media & Entertainment (48 percent); Emergency Services (45 percent); Financial Services (42 percent); Travel & Lodging (40 percent); Healthcare (35 percent); and Transportation (33 percent). Respondents stated that since these industries depend on real-time communication, a text message sent to a mobile device is often sufficient to communicate required information either in the form of an alert, notification or message.

Alerting the Masses – Instantly

Respondents said the top three things they like best about text messaging is its immediacy (70 percent), ability to communicate to people on the move (66 percent), and low cost (60 percent).

The most practical uses for incorporating text messaging into business practices included notification of essential services (65 percent) and emergency services (55 percent).

Global Differences in Connecting with Customers

Professionals from Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America all consistently ranked customer service and support as the top business function that can benefit most from the use of text messaging. In Europe and North America, participants said that business continuity was the next business function that stood to gain the most from expanded use of text messaging, while respondents in Asia-Pacific selected marketing programs.

In both Europe and North America, respondents agreed that the greatest value and ROI of using text messaging was the creation of more satisfied and loyal customers, whereas in Asia, operational efficiencies were cited as bringing the greatest value and ROI to the enterprise.

In all three markets, respondents viewed the integration of text messaging as a way for enterprises to communicate with customers about monthly billing, prices, product, availability, repairs, services, and other functional alerts.

About Clickatell, Inc.

Clickatell is the #1 mobile messaging provider on the Web with over 6,000 customers in over 180 countries. Clickatell’s corporate messaging solutions offer businesses large and small the most cost-effective, end-to-end and multimodal messaging platform available in the world today. Clickatell has offices in the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa. For more information or a copy of the full survey report, visit http://www.clickatell.com/central/campaigns/redir.php?cid=2321

Remote and Mobile Workforce Boom Strains IT Resources, Increases Business Risks, Studies by BPM Forum & Avaya Find
Companies Seeking Cost-Effective Strategies and Approaches to Support and Empower Workers Beyond the Office

PALO ALTO, CA – Dec 12, 2005 – A dramatic expansion in the number of remote and mobile workers is outpacing the ability of IT departments and corporate infrastructures to support them, resulting in significant business continuity and performance issues for companies, according to two major research initiatives by the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum and Avaya (NYSE: AV), a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services.

With the number of mobile workers expected to reach more than 878 million globally by 2009 according to industry analysts at IDC, many companies are seeking cost-effective strategies to consistently extend the functionality, security and reliability beyond the office at the same time allowing manageability for the IT department.

The two studies shed new light on business and IT challenges affecting the performance of mobile workers and their companies, and the steps they are taking to improve productivity and connectivity. "The Remote Revolution: Uptime Issues, Implications & Imperatives in the Mobile Workforce," is based on a survey of more than 400 enterprise executives and managers conducted by the BPM Forum, an independent executive thought leadership organization and FAME (the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience), a mobile advocacy group. "Working to Communicate Better in Business," produced by Avaya, is based on a global survey of 600 mobile professionals and looks at the challenges of mobility from an end-user and business impact perspective.

	Download Report >>

Among the findings of the Remote Revolution study:

• Some 71% of respondents say the percentage of remote workers is increasing at their companies.
• 86% say their IT departments are feeling increased pressure to support mobile and remote workers.
• 92% say quality of IT support is now essential to business continuity and performance.
• 41% say end-users currently cannot access a live help desk without extended waits and frustrating delays.
• 41% say their companies suffered business disruptions because of ineffective support.
• Protecting against threats, intrusions and viruses is the number one IT priority associated with remote and mobile workers, according to executives, followed by improvement in technical support operations.

Among findings of the Working to Communicate study:

• More than half of mobile end-users surveyed missed important business meetings, customer inquiries, or business leads due to missed communications.
• More than one-third said missed communications directly resulted in lost revenues or additional expenses.
• Two-thirds carry more than one mobile device every day, but most routinely pick up messages late at night, because people can't reach them in a timely manner.

"Old support and infrastructure models are breaking down in the face of the Remote Revolution," according to Chris Kenton, BPM Forum senior vice president and Remote Revolution report author. "Dramatic changes are impacting when and where work happens, but are creating serious unmet demands on IT departments and, in many cases, lost business opportunities. This is a business performance issue that companies need to address head-on."

While companies are clearly facing significant support issues related to the growing mobile workforce, most are seeking cost-effective strategies for addressing them. For example, only slightly half of the companies surveyed in the Remote Revolution study expect to increase IT support budgets. While some 64% say they depend on an in-house help desk for technical support, only 21 percent expect to add additional staff. Instead, companies say they are investing in automated support systems (61%), outsourcing (40%) and additional training for staff (39%).

"The mobile workforce is growing and the imperative now is to help companies develop strategies that maximize existing and new investments in voice and data technologies that ultimately minimize the burden on IT departments, infrastructure and employees," said Geoffrey Baird, vice president and general manager, Communications Appliances Division, Avaya. "It's important that companies embrace mobile strategies and solutions that empower and optimize their mobile workforce. The good news is that they can centralize and simplify control while providing for different needs between users so that the right applications and communications get to the right people -- where they are most effective."

The BPM Forum and Avaya will hold a webinar on implications of the Remote Revolution and Working to Communicate studies on Tuesday, December 13, 2-3 p.m. EST. Interested parties can register to attend the conference on the BPM Forum website at http://www.bpmforum.org/registrations/remoterev_register.htm

The detailed findings from the surveys, as well as a full analysis of both studies, will be made available this week for download at www.bpmforum.org.

About the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum

The BPM Forum was organized in 2003 and provides support to thousands of senior executives and practitioners representing global enterprises with more than $500 billion in combined annual revenues. The forum's knowledgeable and influential members excel in strategy, operations, finance, technology, business innovation and boardroom roles. With leadership from GlobalFluency (http://www.globalfluency.com/) and corporate sponsors including IBM (http://www.ibm.com/us/) and Santeon (http://www.santeon.com/) -- the BPM Forum actively researches, develops and communicates new and proven methods to execute strategy, sharpen budgeting and planning practices, improve business processes, strengthen financial management disciplines, and drive performance accountability across distributed organizations. Visit www.BPMForum.org or more information about BPM Forum intellectual capital initiatives, programs, membership, networking services and sponsorship.

About Avaya

Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than one million businesses worldwide, including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500®. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol telephony systems and communications software applications and services.

Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications -- and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services -- Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information visit the Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.com

About FAME
The Forum to Advance the Mobile ExperienceT (FAMET) is a member advocacy group and strategic authority leadership initiative to accelerate marketing programs and research around advancing the wireless user experience. Formed by the CMO Council, FAME promotes the adoption of wireless applications in the best interests of industry players. FAME brings together influential senior marketing leaders from top mobile technology companies that will join in the pursuit of innovations and best practices tailored towards the advancement of end user wireless applications. For more information, please visit the web site at www.fameforusers.org.

About the CMO Council
Based in Silicon Valley, the CMO Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers in the global technology industry. More than 1,500 technology companies are currently represented on the CMO Council, accounting for well over $500 billion in aggregated annual revenues. These include top decision-makers controlling more than $45 billion in global marketing expenditures for many of the world's foremost computer systems, software, networking, communications, consumer electronics, component, distribution, and consulting brands. For more information, please visit the web site at www.cmocouncil.org.

DR. DAN STEINBOCK JOINS FORUM TO ADVANCE THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE™ (FAME)
The Author of "The Mobile Revolution" Joins the New Worldwide Group of
Global Mobile Marketing Leaders

PALO ALTO, CA – August 23, 2005 – The Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), a strategic authority leadership initiative to accelerate marketing and research aimed at driving wireless service and product adoption, today announced the appointment Dr. Dan Steinbock to the faculty of FAMET, a group made up of leading experts in the global mobile market. "It is truly a great pleasure to be part of FAME," comments Dr Steinbock. "This leadership initiative can make a difference in mobile marketing worldwide. It is a privilege to participate and help accelerate the exchange of information with mobile technologies."

In February 2005, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, an elite affinity group of 1,500 chief marketing executives in the technology, communications and digital media sectors, announced FAME -- the Forum to Advance the Mobile ExperienceT. In June 2005, the FAME announced a high-profile advisory board consisting of top marketers and industry experts from 24 of today's leading mobile technology companies. The FAME leadership advisory board includes executives from ARM, Alcatel, Autodesk, British Telecom, Casabyte, Digicel, GSM Association, Gemplus, Good Technology, Google, Intel, Intellisync, Lucent, Nokia, Nortel, Openwave, palmOne, QUALCOMM, Sybase Corporation, Symbian, Virgin Mobile, Visto, Vonage and Yahoo!

As the faculty spokesperson for FAME, Steinbock will serve as a luminary contributing to thought leadership dialogues, programs and content. Due to his expertise in the mobile marketing field, Steinbock will act as a subject matter expert and commentator on pressing mobile issues.

Steinbock, the U.S.-based author of "The Nokia Revolution," recently authored "The Mobile Revolution" (Kogan Page, July 2005). Specializing in strategy and globalization, he specifically focuses on marketing innovation in mobility. Steinbock has consulted for international organizations and multinationals. He is a Fulbright scholar and currently the director of the New York City office of the prestigious Academy of Finland.

About the CMO Council
Based in Silicon Valley, the CMO Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers in the global technology industry. More than 1,500 technology companies are currently represented on the CMO Council, accounting for well over $500 billion in aggregated annual revenues. These include top decision-makers controlling more than $45 billion in global marketing expenditures for many of the world's foremost computer systems, software, networking, communications, consumer electronics, component, distribution, and consulting brands. For more information, please visit the web site at www.cmocouncil.org.

About FAME
The Forum to Advance the Mobile ExperienceT (FAMET) is a member advocacy group and strategic authority leadership initiative to accelerate marketing programs and research around advancing the wireless user experience. Formed by the CMO Council, FAME promotes the adoption of wireless applications in the best interests of industry players. FAME brings together influential senior marketing leaders from top mobile technology companies that will join in the pursuit of innovations and best practices tailored towards the advancement of end user wireless applications. For more information, please visit the web site at www.fameforusers.org.

FORUM TO ADVANCE THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE™ (FAME) BEGINS GLOBAL EFFORT
FOCUSED ON WIRELESS USER MARKETING
New FAME Advisory Board Includes Mobile Marketers and Visionaries from
Leading Players across the Wireless and Mobile Ecosystem

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 28, 2005 – The Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience™ (FAME), a strategic authority leadership initiative to accelerate marketing and research aimed at driving wireless service and product adoption, today launched its global initiative with the announcement of a high-profile advisory board consisting of top marketers and industry experts from 24 of today's leading mobile technology companies. The FAME leadership advisory board includes executives from ARM, Alcatel, Autodesk, British Telecom, Casabyte, Cingular, Digicel, GSM Association, Gemplus, Good Technology, Google, Intel, Lucent, Nokia, Nortel, Openwave, palmOne, QUALCOMM, Sybase, Symbian, Virgin Mobile, Visto, Vonage and Yahoo!.

FAME Advisory Board members include senior level executives from component manufacturers, wireless carriers, handset vendors, mobile application vendors, content providers, mobile game vendors, OS providers and middleware players that hold a key stake in the acceleration and mass-market adoption of mobile device/application usage. These executives, representing some of the world's most prominent and active brand names in the wireless space, share a common interest and concern in advancing the user experience.

FAME's user-centric mission is based on the critical importance of usability and the user experience in driving adoption rates within the mobile marketplace. More than in most technology markets, the mobile user experience is being shaped by an entire ecosystem of companies, which are represented by the advisory board. FAME allows these industry leaders to work together to drive major initiatives designed to spear-head the development of user-oriented solutions for the mobile workforce and consumer.

Sales of mobile handsets worldwide rose 17 percent from last year to a record 180.6 million units in the first quarter of this year, and global sales will approach 750 million units this year, according to the latest data from market-research firm Gartner. The dramatic increase in wireless handset usage will lead to an increase in user demand for "bundled services" that add wireless phone service to VoIP, television and Internet services. However, this increase in end-user demand will be dependent on content providers, vendors and carriers providing the mobile consumer with the best and most enriching user experience.

FAME is a strategic initiative of the CMO Council, an elite affinity group of nearly 1,500 chief marketing executives from technology companies worldwide dedicated to high-level thought leadership and knowledge sharing. Critical stakeholders in FAME will team with the CMO Council to:

• Evangelize the use of new mobile applications among consumers and the press
• Work with software and hardware vendors to improve the usability of these new services by pooling resources for key consumer research
• Demonstrate thought leadership on issues around privacy; mobile user experience; techniques to drive user adoption and retention (see initial Remote Revolution Mobile Workforce Survey around uptime issues, implications, and imperatives at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=11812858462)
• Facilitate market understanding of the opportunities and challenges of new wireless applications such as opt-in advertising, health monitoring, and streaming video and audio

"Industry collaboration to benefit the mobile user experience is of paramount interest in the industry today, and I welcome the chance to work with the CMO Council and other market leaders to address these issues head on," said Jeff Belk, Senior Vice President of Marketing at QUALCOMM and Chairman of the FAME Advisory Board.

"The extensive experience, vision and knowledge of the Advisory Board members will provide significant insight and valuable feedback for our current marketing and research efforts," said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of FAME and the CMO Council. "We have experienced a very encouraging reception to FAME and its goals to date, and we look forward to continuing to tap into the expertise of the Advisory Board to develop very targeted and relevant information, insights, and perspectives."

About FAME
The Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience™ (FAME™) is a member advocacy group and strategic authority leadership initiative to accelerate marketing programs and research around advancing the wireless user experience. Formed by the CMO Council, FAME promotes the adoption of wireless applications in the best interests of industry players. FAME brings together influential senior marketing leaders from top mobile technology companies that will join in the pursuit of innovations and best practices tailored towards the advancement of end user wireless applications.

About the CMO Council
The CMO Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers in the global technology industry. Based in Silicon Valley, the Council works to further the stature, credibility, influence, and understanding of the strategic marketing function among business executives, opinion leaders and critical stakeholders in the technology sector. Nearly 1,500 technology companies are currently represented on the CMO Council, accounting for well over $500 billion in aggregated annual revenues. These include top decision-makers controlling more than $40 billion in global marketing expenditures for many of the world's foremost computer systems, software, networking, communications, consumer electronics, component, distribution, and consulting brands. For more information, please visit our web site at www.cmocouncil.org.

FAME™ BECKONS GLOBAL MOBILE MARKETERS
New Worldwide Group Engages Marketing Leaders from Wireless Industry in Advocacy and Research Program

3GSM WORLD CONGRESS, CANNES, France (Feb. 17, 2005) – The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, an elite affinity group of 1,200 chief marketing executives in the technology, communications and digital media sectors, today announced FAME - the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience™.

FAME is a new strategic authority leadership initiative with an agenda to accelerate marketing programs and research aimed at advancing the wireless user experience. Wireless industry members of the CMO Council will contribute and participate in FAME events, seminars and focus groups to provide guidance, advice and advocacy from the marketing community.

A key contributor to the FAME initiative will be the GSM Association – the global trade association for the world’s wireless operators.

Members of the FAME coalition include wireless carriers, handset vendors, mobile application vendors, content providers, software/game vendors, and OS and middleware players with a key stake in accelerating the growth and adoption of these value added services.

Announced at the 3GSM Congress in Cannes, France, FAME is expected to involve around 200 mobile technology companies who are active members of the CMO Council. These include Cingular, Google, GSMA, HP, Intel, LG Electronics, Lucent, MCI, Macromedia, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel, OpenWave, Orange, palmOne, Proxim, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Symbian, T-Mobile, Verizon, Virgin Mobile, Visto, Yahoo!, and many others.

The FAME group will team with the CMO Council to promote the use of new mobile applications and create marketing thought leadership programs and research to advance the cause. FAME will gather real-time intelligence and develop industry programs that will help guide campaigns and programs advancing the mobile user experience.

The group builds upon the momentum gathered at the Mobile Marketing symposium panel held at last year’s CMO Summit. At the summit, companies such as Intel, Visto, iLoop Mobile and OpenWave participated in an interactive session with technology leaders around the issues and challenges surrounding the rapidly evolving mobile landscape. Leaders identified that a key obstacle holding back more rapid adoption rates are issues around usability and the user experience.

“FAME brings together many of the world’s top marketing leaders in wireless technology that share interest in driving and calibrating effective marketing programs to boost adoption rates and improve customer affinity,” said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. “As the proliferation of mobile applications continues at a frenzied pace, these executives need collective insight and collaboration to tailor marketing initiatives accordingly.”

Welcoming the initiative, Bill Gajda, CMO of the GSM Association said: “We see FAME as an ideal complement in the marketing arena to the acceleration of standards activity we’ve been driving from a technical perspective. At the 3GSM World Congress we announced initiatives to drive down the cost of handsets for the emerging markets and to better integrate messaging services in the developed markets.

“Now the FAME program will provide a platform for key players in wireless marketing to keep pace with the challenges and opportunities of the exploding market for mobile applications and devices,” added Gajda, who will serve as a strategic advisor to the FAME program and also serves on the advisory board of the CMO Council.

THE BACKGROUND TO THE FAME INITIATIVE
The wireless ecosystem shares an interest in effectively driving adoption rates for mobile data services because future growth of revenue per user (ARPU) and continued profitability will be more dependent on the depth and breadth of consumer usage of next generation services.

Due to the economic structure in which carriers typically invest more than $300 to acquire each new user and that basic voice minutes have become a commodity, the entire industry is relying on next generation/data services to be the profit driver. The ability to launch and drive adoption of value added services in many cases will determine success or failure.

Mobile marketing leaders involved in FAME will team with the CMO Council to:

• Work with software and hardware vendors to improve the usability of these new services by pooling resources for key consumer research
• Demonstrate thought leadership on issues around privacy; mobile user experience; and techniques to drive user adoption and retention
• Facilitate market understanding of the opportunities and challenges of new wireless applications such as opt-in advertising, health monitoring, and streaming video and audio

FAME will also team with top media partners to aggregate research and reports and to create a strong media profile and a credible voice on all new developments, innovations and advances relating to the mobile experience.

Mobile marketing executives from around the world are invited to join leading marketers from some of the biggest names in the wireless business to enable application proliferation and accelerate knowledge exchange in this burgeoning market landscape. Initial membership in FAME is free. Vendors are also able to get involved in sponsored programs and content development that will significantly shape and transform adoption in the industry and help promote their company’s contribution to the exploding wireless application arena.

About the CMO Council
The CMO Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers in the global technology industry. Based in Silicon Valley, the Council works to further the stature, credibility, influence, and understanding of the strategic marketing function among business executives, opinion leaders and critical stakeholders in the technology sector. More than 1,200 technology companies are currently represented on the CMO Council, accounting for well over $500 billion in aggregated annual revenues. These include top decision-makers controlling more than $40 billion in global marketing expenditures for many of the world’s foremost computer systems, software, networking, communications, consumer electronics, component, distribution, and consulting brands. For more information, please visit our web site at www.cmocouncil.org.

For more information on membership or sponsorship opportunities with FAME, please contact Derek Kober at dkober@globalfluency.com, 650-328-5555 ext. 126.