In-Brief: A news announcement from MyScreen Mobile speaks volumes about mobile marketing - and how mobile operators are getting involved.

Talk about timing! I connect the dots in a few recent releases from MyScreen Mobile and conclude that the company will soon be one to watch, and just a few days later, the company contacts me with the news (under NDA) that that day has arrived.

Orascom Telecom Holding - a carrier that operators mobile networks in countries including Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Zimbabwe and most recently North Korea — has made a $10 million investment in MyScreen. The deal gives MyScreen exclusive access to 70 million + subscribers in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and another 18 million through Orascom’s affiliates Wind Italy and Wind Greece. It’s Orascom’s “first strategic investment in a technology company.” (A more detailed analysis of MyScreen’s business model - one that basically rewards consumer for usage and referrals - can be found here.)

But the investment is just part of the news. This statement from Naguib Sawiris, Orascom Chairman and CEO, gives us the inside track on the decision - and very likely the discussion taking place in carrier board rooms worldwide.

As Sawiris puts it: “With over 90 million handsets in the Orascom/Weather group of companies, we believe that MyScreen will play an important role in allowing us to pursue plans to include mobile advertising in our business model.” Consider that Vodafone and Telefonica also recently invested in a mobile marketing company - namely Amobee - and the first indications of a trend are clear. If mobile operators are to morph successfully into mobile marketing companies and beat all the other portal providers, Web aggregators and mobile destinations nipping at the heels, then taking a stake in a mobile advertising company might be the best way to build competitive advantage.

Is this the thinking behind the announcement? What’s next? We’ll find out soon when the company circles back for an exclusive interview with MSG.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 6:23 am and is filed under Mobile Advertising, Mobile Search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.