mBlox launches mobile advertising service with SMS insertion pilot

mBlox announced that it is entering the mobile advertising market today, with the launch of an SMS ad-insertion service. The service will work by inserting ads into the empty space at the ends of commercial SMS. mBlox is quick to assure everyone that it is not starting to advertise or produce content itself. It claims this service is just a way of connecting producers with advertisers.

What’s the plan?

This service is particularly aimed at companies who publish content via SMS. mBlox wants to use the dead space in SMS messages to insert paid-for advertising – with some of that money being used to offset the cost of sending the SMS. In effect, this service will provide ad-support to the service provider for each separate text sent.

The trial period will comprise an inventory of 10 million insertions.

Advertisers and ad networks in the trial: Movoxx, Kadoink, Jingle Network, Pudding Media

Publishers/content providers in the trial:  Myxer, LSN, dmd:mobile

From the release:

“Mobile advertising is evolving and beginning to live up to the promise and we believe mBlox can develop and drive this exciting industry forward,” said Steve Livingston, chief marketing officer, mBlox. “mBlox’s experience in managing complex and numerous relationships within the mobile industry ensures that we are strategically positioned to provide a simple and effective ad-insertion service, benefitting content publishers and advertising networks alike.”

“SMS advertising is becoming an increasingly important part of our revenue mix, as we continue to grow our ad-supported mobile entertainment business, which currently reaches over 20 million consumers,” said Myk Willis, CEO, Myxer. “We are thrilled to expand our existing partnership with mBlox to enhance our SMS ad operations and look forward to the positive impact SMS advertising is to have on our business.”

“Pudding Media welcomes mBlox into the mobile advertising ecosystem. mBlox’s inventory will be in high demand by our global advertising network due to its global reach and audience diversity,” said Ariel Maislos, founder and CEO, Pudding Media. “By coupling mBlox’s inventory with our content classification technology, we will be able to offer advertisers a contextually targeted media buy with exceptional ROI.”

What we think?

Given that mBlox specialises in mobile billing and mobile messaging, I guess it was never going to be too long before we saw it combine the two!

mBlox really has launched this service just in time – it could surf along on a the crest of the new SMS wave. Person-to-person texting is rapidly fading in comparison to corporate texting. This year alone we’ve seen charitable agencies, city councils, helpdesks and more turn to SMS as the best way of keeping in contact with customers/citizens. As a result, we’ve seen quite a few SMS providers offering cheap (or free) bulk SMS to operators and the like. But this is a clever and sneaky move from mBlo – offering an extra layer of savings to all of these agencies could see a lot of take-up.