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Orange France trials e-newspaper downloads - with adverts

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:37:15 -0400

Waiting for the newspaper delivery might become a thing of the past if the trial by Orange France proves successful. The company has linked with seven French publications to enable 120 pilot users to download a 'convincing facsimile' of daily newspapers over the 3G mobile network.

What is different about this service, albeit a trial today, is that the 'Read & Go' service will be supported by advertising unlike existing services which are subscription-based. The Kindle, sold by Amazon.com, allows customers to subscribe to e-paper versions of 19 newspapers.

The seven French publications participating in Read & Go include: Le Monde, Le Figaro, Le Parisien and Libération, which is being added to the test this month; a sports daily, L'Équipe; a business newspaper, Les Échos; and a weekly entertainment and culture magazine called Télérama.

If successful, France Télécom said it would plan to introduce the product in other markets, like Britain.

For more on this story:
- go to Editors Weblog and Telegeography

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Orange goes ZAP, and launches its ad-supported video service. Ad-supported story
Orange announces Ad-Funded content trial for 800,000 mobile UK users. Orange story

Early success for ad-funded mobile network

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Blyk, Europe's first ad-funded mobile network, signed up 100,000 U.K. customers in its first six months of operation. An MVNO utilising the Orange network, Blyk offers free calls and texts to 16 to 24 year-olds willing to receive six targeted advertising texts or pictures every day. The rapid uptake of its service has meant that Blyk reached its first year target in six months.

For more information:
- go to Silicon News and Mobile Europe

Supermarket giant to launch mobile ad campaign

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

After nearly 12 months of trials, the UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco has given the go-ahead to its MVNO arm, Tesco Mobile, to commercially launch an on-portal advertising campaign.

The company claimed that its trial mobile advertising campaigns on its WAP portal had generated click through rates to mini campaign WAP sites of between three and seven per cent. This, according to the company, was enough to convince Tesco to launch a commercial mobile ad campaign, made even more pertinent by the 300,000 unique visits to the trial site in December 2007.

A survey conducted by InfoMedia into the trial results found that the average Tesco Mobile user was 36 years old, 60 per cent of them were female, and 60 per cent visited the portal at least once a month. Nearly 70 per cent said they would click on a relevant advert.

"Our customers are showing a real appetite for more products and services through the mobile internet. Delivering more great experiences and value through our portal is a priority for this year," commented Ashley Schofield, Head of Customer Management at Tesco Mobile

For more on this story:
- read Mobile Europe

Related story: Carrefour launches MVNO

U.K. hosts largest ad-funded content trial

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:59:54 -0400

Mobile operator Orange has launched the U.K.'s largest ad-supported content trial, allowing 800,000 customers to download music to their mobiles for free. Orange customers will have the chance to download up to 500 tracks covering urban, pop, rock and dance from its mobile internet platform, Orange World. During the trial, which will last for three months, brands will be able to pay to have their advertising banners promoted as customers download music tracks. Mobile advertising company ScreenTonic is managing and delivering the ads for the trial, and has already signed up a number of advertisers to the trial including Paramount Pictures and Ford.

For further information:
- go to Mobile and Cellular News

Mobile advertising tracking service comes to Europe

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

Following its success in the U.S., M:Metrics has launched its mobile advertising monitoring service in the U.K. that claims to provide the first definitive method of measuring mobile advertising inventory.

The measurement firm reports that online retail companies such as Electronic Arts, Glu and Ebay are placing the bulk of mobile ads, with the category comprising of 39 per cent of all mobile ads tracked by M:Metrics.

"Advertisers, media agency and media owners in the U.K. are calling out for greater clarity on who is advertising what, where and when," said Paul Goode of M:Metrics. "In January, M:Ad has tracked major brands across a range of industries, including Avis, BMW, Cadbury's, Citroen, EMAP and IBM, using mobile advertising."

For more on this story:
- read Mobile Europe

Operators team to define mobile ad metrics

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Five of Europe's largest mobile operators announced an agreement to develop common mobile advertising metrics and measurements in conjunction with the GSM Association trade alliance's GSMA Mobile Advertising Programme. The carriers--Vodafone Group, Telefonica O2 Europe, T-Mobile International, FT-Orange Group and 3--will conduct a feasibility study to develop a consistent and audited data aggregation model to deliver cross-operator metrics to media and advertising partners.

Priority one: Defining a range of metrics to describe the mobile audience and measure the effectiveness of mobile advertising. The study will focus initially on the U.K. market, with all five British operators working with the GSMA to develop a proof of concept for cross-operator mobile media planning. "The power of the mobile as a marketing tool can only be realized if advertisers can clearly see and understand the benefits compared to traditional media," said T-Mobile UK director of marketing Phil Chapman in a prepared statement. --Jason

For more on the mobile advertising study:
-read this release

Related articles:
Carriers: We will control mobile advertising. story
Report: Mobile ad preferences based on age, gender

Yahoo! and T-Mobile ink mobile ad deal

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

T-Mobile has struck a strategic partnership with Yahoo! which will see the first graphical advertising appear on the U.K. operator's Web'n'walk Internet service. T-Mobile and Yahoo! intend to roll out the first mobile advertisements in the first half of 2008. The ads will be exclusively sold and served by Yahoo! The Web 'n' walk service was launched in 2005. It allows users to surf the Internet when they want and how they want for as little as 50p a day.

For more on this story:
- go to 3g.co.uk and Mobile Europe

Mobile ads really clicking, claims Blyk

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:00:00 -0500

While the launch of ad-funded MVNO Blyk was greeted with scorn by many within the telecoms industry, the company is claiming record click-through statistics after only two months of operation.

Given that Blyk has specifically targeted university students with its offer of free calls in return for receiving mobile advertising, then a high click rate is to be expected. However, the company is claiming up to 43 percent of its customers are clicking on ads, as against Vodafone's mobile Internet reporting a click-through rate of 3.5 percent, and PC Internet being just 0.5 per cent.

According to Blyk's UK sales director, Jonathan McDonald, it's simple logic: "We have a database of 100 percent opted-in people who have signed up knowing they will receive up to six advertisements a day. The advertisements are specifically targeted to their preferences, which they have stated in advance."

McDonald maintains that industry comments suggesting that rates would fall as the novelty for users wears off is overstated. "People who have written that have missed the major point; that every day our service is becoming more profiled to the user, so as it becomes more relevant to them, click through rates will go up."

For more on this:
- read Mobile News

Telefonica and Vodafone buy into mobile ads firm

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

There are more questions than answers to the future of mobile advertising--the viability of the business model being perhaps the least understood. Two of Europe's largest telecom operators believe there must be some market advantage given that they've both bought minority shareholdings in Amobee, a mobile phone advertising company.

Both Telefonica and Vodafone have already tested Amobee's technology in a number of European countries and now want a closer relationship to gain a more thorough understanding of how the advertising business works.

"Amobee is a cutting-edge technology start-up company and this is an industry we want to be part of from the ground up," a Telefonica spokesman said. Amobee, which is rolling out its mobile advertising platform for mobile search, mobile games and text messages, is already selling Vodafone's advertising in Spain, the Czech Republic and Greece.

For more on this story:
- MarketWatch and Gomonews

Ad-based mobile carrier Blyk launches

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:55 -0400

Former Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietilä and Contra Group chairman and CEO Antti Öhrling have launched an ad-subsidized MVNO called Blyk. The service has plans to become a "pan-European free mobile operator" offering subscribers free, ad-supported voice and text services. The service is restricted to 16- to 24-year-olds, no one older or younger may sign up for the service, and users who turn 25-years-old need to start paying for the service.

Blyk users agree to receive six text messages a day from the MVNO, in return, they are allotted 217 free text messages and 43 minutes of voice time per month, with the option to pay for more. Data usage is billed at 99 pence/minute.

For more on the MVNO:
- read this press release