Mobiya names Duncan Dunlop as non-executive director

Promoting the growth of Mobile Classifieds in the UK

LONDON, UK, January 21, 2009: Mobiya today announced that Duncan Dunlop has joined the board of directors of Mobiya Holdings Limited as a non-executive director. Mr. Dunlop will advise and support the company as it brings its online classified and advertising technology to market.

Mobiya is pioneering mobile classifieds in Europe and already has a strong online presence after only three months since launching in the UK.

Mr. Dunlop joins the company as it scales its online content aggregation, indexing and distribution platform and rolls out new mobile interactivity and advertising products. Recent online growth has been phenomenal and Mobiya UK continues to achieve double digit growth week on week.

“Duncan Dunlop is a world-class expert in the online advertising and classified sector and is enormously respected throughout the industry. We are delighted to welcome him aboard” said Martin Davis, Chairman of Mobiya Holdings Limited.

Mr. Dunlop has extensive experience in developing online business models and currently oversees the UK operations of Oodle, a subsidiary of the world’s largest search company for classifieds. Through partnerships with leading classifieds operators Mr. Dunlop has grown Oodle’s search index from 900,000 listings in 2007 to over 4 million today. Additionally Oodle’s online traffic has grown through distribution deals with a number of the UK’s leading media companies.

“I joined Mobiya because I share their vision that mobile will become a significant channel in the classified industry. Mobiya is an early mover here and in a great position with an exciting technology roadmap and a management team with an awesome track record. Mobiya is already proving new business models,” said Duncan Dunlop.

Prior to Mobiya and Oodle, Mr. Dunlop held business development and product development roles at Yahoo! and Lycos and the emerging online divisions of large classified and directory companies including Yell and Touchlocal.com.

Mr. Dunlop is 42 and holds B.Sc. in Math’s and Physics from Durham University.

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Oxygen8 Communications partners with Mobiya to penetrate SMS advertising market

Mobiya uses Oxygen8’s Gateway platform to distribute classified ads via mobile phones

London, January 19, 2009: Interactive communications company, Oxygen8 Communications, and Mobiya, the UK’s fastest growing mobile advertising company for SMS marketing, have announced a strategic international partnership to deliver classified ads to consumers via mobile phones.

The new partnership will see Mobiya utilising the Oxygen8 platform and infrastructure for its classified ads systems and is expected to generate significant additional reach for Mobiya as a result of Oxygen8’s international presence. The high level of traffic and the enhanced distribution facilitated by the partnership is also expected to increase advert volumes and response rates, creating additional revenue opportunities for Mobiya and its publisher customers.

Using the Mobiya classifieds network, buyers and sellers communicate about classified advertisements using their mobile phones. Sellers can create adverts using their mobile phones, along with a photograph and or even a video. Buyers can express an interest in a classified advert by sending a text message to a short code number, prompting the release of contact information from the buyer to the seller. The seller also receives real-time alerts as soon as someone responds to their advert, making Mobiya classifieds fast and effective.

A key feature of the Oxygen8 mobile platform is that it is scalable and able to handle hundreds of connections and hundreds of messages per second, enabling Mobiya to run numerous classifieds systems and connect hundreds of buyers and sellers simultaneously.

Martin Davis, CEO of Mobiya comments, “Mobile Classified adverts are increasingly popular in the UK market and provide an excellent vehicle for anyone who wants to sell or find a product or service quickly and easily using their mobile phone. Media publishers also see the benefits of running a Mobile Classified ads service for their customers as it encourages greater audience interaction whilst also driving brand value and loyalty.”

Davis continues, “We chose Oxygen8 Communications as our infrastructure partner because they have a well established, proven technology platform which provides excellent inter-connectivity, fast message throughput and scalability. In addition, Oxygen8 have a strong international presence, especially in several of the new territories that we are interested in targeting, including Africa and the USA. Working with Oxygen8 we can utilise their knowledge of local markets in order to drive adoption of Mobiya classified ads on a global scale.”

Colin White, UK CEO of Oxygen8 Communications, concludes, “A key feature of Mobiya’s Mobile Classified ads service is that it automatically processes traffic going in both directions; sellers are able to promote their products for sale via their mobile phones and buyers can instantly respond. This enables fast two-way interaction between buyers and sellers. For publishers and their advertising partners, there is also the opportunity to advertise complementary products around the main advert. So for example, if someone is interested in buying a car then they can also be offered relevant car insurance deals, instantaneously over the same SMS conversations. Using the Mobiya service via Oxygen8 publishers can maximise their new media revenue opportunities whilst also driving brand value.”

About Oxygent8 Communications: click here.

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2009: what’s happening to print?

Welcome to '09. We couldn’t have imagined a more controversial announcement so early in the year as Exchange & Mart ceases its print publication and goes online only (article).

Print has been hard hit by the collapse of the print advertising model and by the rise of online classified competitors. A first media icon and household brand in the UK classified landscape is boldly choosing for technology, rather than paper!

Advanced technological platforms are becoming the only sustainable carriers for classified content, being it online-only or published across a variety of channels and screens such as web interfaces, mobile screens and interactive television.

Entering an online-only market will require strong technological differentiation, as your competitor is even one click closer. Our resolution for 2009: more aggregation, stronger distribution, better search, more sms interactivity, ubiquitous mobile publication, targeted online advertising and contextual mobile advertising. Watch Mobiya!