24/7 Real Media, Vindigo Mobile Ads
Monday, February 28, 2005
By Roger Park, Associate Editor, imediaconnection


24/7 Real Media, Inc. and mobile media company Vindigo announced a partnership to deliver wireless applications protocol (WAP) advertising services. WAP is a technology that enables mobile phones to access website content.

Customers with WAP-enabled phones can view third party advertisements distributed via 24/7 Real Media's Open AdStream platform within Vindigo's WAP products

"Mobile marketing is the next evolution of online advertising. As online advertising continues to gain its share of marketing dollars, advertisers will continue to push the boundaries of online marketing. Using 24/7 Real Media's Open AdStream platform with Vindigo's products and services will demonstrate the benefits of standardized trafficking, tracking, reporting and targeting for mobile marketing," says Robert Tas, senior vice president, technology and media, 24/7 Real Media.

According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the United States is the second-largest single pool of cell phone users in the world with 175 million mobile consumers. The Mobile Marketing Association also estimates that mobile marketing in the US will increase to $5 billion by the end of 2005.

"Vindigo's partnership with 24/7 Real Media will provide advertisers greater reach through a turnkey ad model and result in an optimal experience for the consumer," says Peter Fuller, executive director of the Mobile Marketing Association.

"What's interesting about this deal is that it demonstrates we're getting closer to the next 'holy grail' of marketing -- location based ad-serving. The first priority in today's mobile market is to standardize the ad formats so that major brands will allocate the bigger bucks to this sector. Advancing hardware including 3-G enabled handsets and video-enabled personal media players is driving content producers and marketers to chase an audience hungry for the latest in mobile imaging and even TV-2-Go," says Joyce Schwarz, author and head of JCOM and a frequent contributor to iMedia about emerging platforms.