Flytxt, Lodestar Media to power mobile ads

MUMBAI, INDIA: In a bid to tap the growing market of mobile advertisement, Flytxt, the mobile advertising technology provider, and Lodestar Media, the advertising media company, has strategically joined hands.

“In India about 90-95 per cent mobile ads are spam. So you need a technology that offers the ability to advertisers and operators to reach to its relatively accurate audience and able to measure its impacts,” said Dr. Vinod Vasudevan, Flytxt’s group CEO on the sidelines of VAS India 2011 here today.

He claimed that Flytxt’s QREDA is a technology platform for media agencies, advertisers, operators and consumers that unleash the full potential of mobile as an advertising channel.

Explaining the strategic tie-up with Lodestar Media, Vasudevan said the technology would help Lodestar to deliver mobile ads to higher relevant audience or consumers for effective branding, monetization along with measurability of the ads’ impact.

“It’s only those 200-300 corporates that advertise on television and print media due to very high cost. Because of high cost of advertisements, small and medium size business and individuals businesses are unable to explore advertising opportunities,” added Shashi Sinha, Lodestar Media’s CEO.

“But mobile ads are highly affordable to small and medium businesses with high audience reach and hence can help their business grow if the mobile ads are well targeted to relative audience,” he observed.

However, Sinha pointed out that the advertisement spend in India is just half a per cent of the GDP, which is very low compared to other countries like the US, where it is two per cent of the GDP that includes 20 per cent share of small and medium enterprises.

According to Sinha, the total advertisement market is around Rs.120-125 crore while mobile ad spending is very low. Moreover, now with operators rolling out 3G services, Sinha expects rise in mobile advertisements by small and mid size businesses.

Reliance Communications, Virgin Mobile, Aircel are among the many customers of Flytxt.