Mobiya breaks open the mobile advertising market in Belgium
Mobiya Belgium has introduced a completely free mobile classified service using its popular classified short code 4050. This allows Mobiya to increase the classified communication traffic and connect more responders to advertisers. Everyone in Belgium with a mobile phone can place classifieds ads for free using sms or mms. Our distribution deals with Metro and Koopjeskrant provide significant reach of the ads.
Mobiya started to sign its first advertising deals with sponsors of the contextual classified communication. The beta testing with advertisers is aimed to go live in December. According to Sacha Vekeman, MD of Mobiya Belgium, the aim is to serve over 500,000 opted-in sms messages, text-and-picture MMS and mobile web links in the first two quarters of 2008.
Today, Blyk in the UK announced a 43% click-through after six weeks serving mobile ads. Blyk does sms, text-and-picture, photos, animations, video and bespoke formats within the 16-to-24 age group. More information here.
e-paper and newspapers
The future of e-paper is very nearby. In a couple of years you’ll be reading your news and classifieds on proper digital devices. Amazon launched its first electronic bookreader bundled with a newspaper service in collaboration with Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Times (emerce). Seiko announced a new e-paper device: see image below.
Benelux: Internet growth slowing down, mobile penetration peaks
Thumbs down: Emerce reports that the internet usage is hardly growing, a recent study only shows 3% growth per year in the Netherlands: Emerce "Internetgebruik Nederland groeit amper meer."
Thumbs up: De Standaard Online reports that the mobile penetration in Belgium peaks. Almost everyone in Belgium has a mobile phone: 10 million active sim-cards for a 10,6 million population = 95.2% penetration (article).
Mobile Classifieds Developer Gumiyo Raises Angel Cash
Mobiya wants to congratulate Gumiyo with its second business angel round (see article). It is very important to endorse investment in our new and emerging mobile classified space. The market is huge; aggregation, search and mobile are drivers for a serious disruption in this $100 billion dollar classified industry.
About Gumiyo’s positioning in comparison with Mobiya = very complementary. Gumiyo focuses mainly on the development of the mobile web experience for classifieds (let’s say wap publication) and building a connection between buyers and sellers over IP. Mobiya is a communication and traffic engine towards a mobile classified property and connects buyers and sellers over sms. Let’s say that Gumiyo can be the next eBay, while Mobiya is the next Skype. As history has proven, companies come together.
One billion text messages sent each week in U.K.
SMS text messaging is a billion numbers game. A couple of weeks ago we blogged about the USA hitting one billion sms text messages a day (post), while the UK still sits in the top six of the global league with one billions sms text messages a week (post). Even more interesting, this will act as a catalyst for consumers’ passion for all things mobile, such as mobile classifieds!
Olx.com classifieds – too many fraudulent buyers
I have been testing some new free online classified sites and wanted to share my concerns about Olx.com. I’ve promoted a Toshiba tablet pc on the global Olx.com network for 8 weeks now and received 5 leads. After some follow up with these buyers, it seems that all of them were fraudulent buyers, working with overlay hotmail or gmail addresses looking for a post-paid delivery towards Nigeria or Russia. Scary and I immediately unlisted my advertisement from this network. I am still not convinced that globally listing classifieds is a value for the seller. Classifieds remain local, auctions can be global.
ICMA conference day 1: mobile classifieds
The International Classified Media Association brought together 150 people from the world’s classified industry in the centre of Amsterdam to discuss the future of classified media. All continents have representatives and members are sharing best practices during the break-out sessions.
To our big surprise, and during the keynote speech, Mobiya was headlined as a leading innovator in this enormous industry. The theme "100% Digital" soon drifted from an online discussion to the readiness of mobile media and the opportunity of mobile classifieds.
The presentations and panel discussions from mobile thought leaders such as Bob Cauthorn, CEO of Citytools (USA), Jan Webering, CEO of Sevenval (Germany) and Felix Erken, MD of the #1 classified media publisher Junk Mail in South Africa all stressed that mobile is the basis of a serious disruption in the digital classified space.
More to come…