Jakarta. Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Ideathon 2020 calls for participants to help brands up their mobile marketing game amid the pandemic.

With social restrictions, people are spending more time on their phones in their homes. 

According to local media outlet Antara, mobile operators enjoy an increase in internet traffic up to 20 percent since people began to work from home. Data provider Telkomsel also reports an increase of 22.8 percent in their internet-based services on this year's Ramadan.

The increased mobile internet usage leads to brands choosing mobile as their go-to marketing platform. Unfortunately, companies are now facing several challenges, such as budget cuts in marketing and a shift in consumer expectations.

That encourages companies to look for more efficient yet innovative ways to reach customers through mobile marketing. Hence, Ideathon 2020 is calling for students, technologists, developers, freelancers and professionals within the marketing community to help brands address their issues.

Students can get an insight into mobile marketing from experts who can give a boost to their future careers. Ideathon can also open doors for more opportunities and connections for working professionals.

Participating brands include the world's largest food and beverage company, Nestlé.

"This Ideathon will allow participants to gain insights from mentors on how they can effectively address the challenges brands faced when marketing in a mobile-first world," MMA Asia Pacific managing director Rohit Dadwal said in his official statement on Tuesday.

Ideathon has already begun accepting idea submissions since June. Participants can look at the brands' problem statements and expectations for the outcome on the official website. Registration will be closed on Friday.

This weekend, they will present the work plan and demonstrate the prototype to the brand owners. A panel of judges will then select three winners.

Participation is free of charge.

"This is also a fabulously unique opportunity for brands to have possible solutions presented by the participating developers across Asia-Pacific, and not just limited to those within their markets. This opens up a vast spectrum of ideas which will be interesting for the brands to explore, and then pick the winners," MMA Indonesia country manager Shanti Tolani said. 

For more information on the panel and timeline and registration, visit the official website.