The Midwest is going mobile for the Mobile University event April 28 at Chicago?s Spertus Museum.

The Heartland Mobile Council is putting on Mobile University, an interactive one-day educational event. Mobile University is the centerpiece in an effort to educate brands about the importance of a long-term strategic approach to mobile marketing and how to integrate mobile into their businesses. 

?The Heartland Mobile Council (HMC) decided to organize the Mobile University event to bring together agencies, brands and technology providers to talk about the importance of a long-term, strategic approach to mobile marketing,? said Kelly Stickel, director of Mobile University, Chicago.

?Our goal is to educate and businesses about how to use this new mass medium to grow their business and enrich their brand,? she said.

The HMC guides businesses and consumers across the nation in learning about the mobile industry and educates the public about the power of the platform. It was founded by Hugh Jedwill, CEO of Mobile Anthem.

Mobile University will be held Wednesday, April 28 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, with a post-conference networking event from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Mobile 101
The goal of Mobile University is to bring an interactive mobile experience to the day, so that its attendees have the opportunities to learn mobile marketing best practices and walk away with the tools to execute them.

Pre-registration tickets are $99 and available here.

Attendees will earn about building a strategic mobile foundation, how to integrate mobile into the marketing mix, proper campaign design for user experience, metrics for measuring consumer engagement and how to monetize mobile campaigns.

Speakers include Gary Schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile and chair of the mobile committee for the IAB; Patrick Collins, CEO of 5th Finger; Kei Shimada, CEO of Infinita; Joe Olsen, CEO of Phenomblue; Molly Garris, digital strategy manager at Arc Worldwide; and Patrick J. Moorhead, vice president and director of mobile platforms at Draftfcb Chicago.

Approximately 350 senior-level executives in the marketing and technology industries, including agencies, brand managers and technology providers, are expected to attend the event.

Mobile University attendees will be experience mobile marketing first-hand via several initiatives. The event will have a WAP site that will be available across 10 handsets including Apple?s iPhone and Research In Motion?s BlackBerry devices, a Twitter feed to ask presenters questions and a text-to-win quiz.

Attendees will also be given the opportunity to opt-in at registration for SMS alert updates about the event.

There will also be an interactive lunch with sponsorship tables and mobile experiences letting attendees get comfortable about the different mobile tactics.

Heartfelt effort
Sponsors of the event include 5th Finger, Acquity Group, Artisan, Interactive Mediums, Paladin Staffing, Phenomblue, Punchkick Interactive and Ruder Finn.

Ms. Stickel said the goal with Mobile University is to work towards increasing the repeat rate for mobile marketing campaigns and show attendees the value of the mobile channel.

Mobile University was also designed to help increase awareness and recognition for the Heartland Mobile Council as a resource for mobile marketing educational content.

?Mobile is emerging as the most powerful channel to communicate with the consumer, yet only 7 percent of companies that embark on a mobile marketing campaign do so a second time,? Ms. Stickel said. ?Businesses, brands and agencies don?t know how to integrate mobile into their marketing efforts. 

?By offering sessions on mobile marketing basics all the way to more advanced sessions on mobile monetization strategies and metrics, we?re confident that all attendees will walk away with some new ideas and tools around mobile marketing,? she said.