SAN FRANCISCO and BERNE, Switzerland, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The era of free mobile video gets under way in Switzerland in June when Ad Infuse and Minick, leaders in delivering personalized mobile advertising and video streaming solutions, launch the country's first ad supported video service to Swisscom Mobile customers. Rather than paying a download or subscription fee to receive video via a wireless device, Swisscom Mobile customers are able to access video on demand content supported by brief, 10-20 second advertisements at the beginning and end of each program.
Ad Infuse and Minick have launched the Swisscom Mobile pilot with a comedy channel and anticipate that music, sports and other content category channels will follow.
"We're tremendously excited to partner with Swisscom Mobile and bring ad supported mobile video to Europe," said Stephen Upstone, Ad Infuse Managing Director of European Business Development. "The potential for mobile marketing in video is immense -- projected to hit $1 billion within five years. And the European market is virtually untapped. This is a great opportunity to lead the way in developing the European mobile video market and to bring quality content -- supported by personalized advertising -- to mobile subscribers."
"Ad supported video is a strong proposition for consumers, advertisers and content providers," said Marius Dano, Strategy Manager at Swisscom Mobile. "We look for it to bring new customers to mobile video and help existing customers find more content to enjoy. We're excited to be working with Ad Infuse and Minick on this pilot."
Swisscom Mobile is Switzerland's leading mobile telecoms provider, with over 4.6 million mobile customers.
A mix of local and international brands support the programming to Swisscom Mobile customers, with Canon, Peugeot and Sony-Ericsson among the international advertisers participating.
"Ad supported mobile video is ready to take off," said Upstone. "Consumers want anytime/anywhere access to quality content. As history has proven, supporting that content with advertising is a very efficient and effective way to give it to them."
About Ad Infuse
From portable media players to mobile phones -- Ad Infuse delivers highly personalized ad experiences to consumers across all mobile devices. By dynamically inserting targeted ads at the moment of content delivery, Ad Infuse ensures optimal relevancy for the end user. With the utmost respect for consumer data protection, Ad Infuse unlocks new revenue streams for channel owners by dismantling limitations of the current mobile advertising sponsorship model. Evangelizing the growth of mobile media consumption, Ad Infuse is committed to helping mobile operators and content owners reach sustainable efficiency while providing advertisers with ultimate ad effectiveness.
About Minick
MINICK is the pioneer of interactive mobile applications and infrastructure solutions. Founded in 1994, MINICK develops and operates mobile services for network operators such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefonica and Orange for media and entertainment companies such as MTV, Endemol, Warner Bros., Universal Music and Sony Music as well as for corporate clients in mobile direct and dialogue marketing. The company has built one of the largest mobile service delivery networks in Europe, Africa and the Americas, and operates its own messaging and mobile internet hosting centres. MINICK is powering more than 300 mobile internet portals for network operators around the world. The company has offices in Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. More information can be found at http://www.minick.net/.
About Swisscom Mobile
With a market share of 64%, Swisscom Mobile is the market leader in the Swiss mobile communications sector. In fiscal year 2006, Swisscom Mobile generated net revenue of CHF 4'022 billion and now has more than 4.6 million NATEL subscribers. Swisscom Mobile is a public limited company with Swisscom Ltd holding a 100% stake. The company operates a nationwide GSM network (900/1800 MHz), which was enhanced with EDGE in spring of 2005. With HSDPA, Swisscom Mobile is the first network carrier in Switzerland to roll out a turbo network. Launched in February of 2006, it is already about five times faster than a UMTS network. Already today, Swisscom Mobile provides coverage of around 90% of the populated area of Switzerland through its UMTS network as well as wireless LAN-Internet access through more than 1000 hotspots.
This unique technology mix is the basis for a comprehensive mobile broadband network that enables high-quality mobile communication services. Swisscom Mobile launched UMTS-based services including live TV and video telephony. Its Mobile Unlimited PC Card supports automatic, seamless and high- speed mobile connections to the Internet.
Natel(R) subscribers are not only reachable anywhere within Switzerland but, with over 470 roaming partner networks, all over the world.
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