Globe teams up with Vienna-based firm

MANILA, Philippines –  Globe Telecom is aiming to corner the bulk of the potential P2-billion market for mobile advertising annually after teaming up with a world leader in this new advertising platform.

Globe and Vienna-based Out There Media announced last Friday the official rollout of a comprehensive mobile advertising offering to the Philippine market, the first in the country.

Last year, total advertising spend in the Philippines reached P40 billion, of which around five percent went to mobile advertising, Globe officials said.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said they see the mobile platform as a new segment in the local advertising industry.

“More importantly, this new service will enable our subscribers to get more out of the brands they love. By integrating this opt-in service into our rewards program, we hope to give another superior experience for our customers, exclusively from Globe,” Cu said.

Named “my Rewards, my Globe Plus,” the mobile advertising service is the latest enhancement to the Globe loyalty program, presenting an innovative points-earning option for its 24.6 million subscribers.

Cu explained that the program will create a highly-profiled data set of subscribers that will allow advertisers to truly identify which subscribers they are interested in.

Out There CEO Kerstin Trikalitis said the service is already attracting positive response from the advertising market. “We are confident that our partnership will revolutionize the advertising sector in the Philippines,” she added.

The current Globe loyalty program “my Rewards, my Globe” is the foundation of this new service. Subscribers are given a free array of rewards items that they can avail of using the points they earn with every reload. Hot-ticket items include free text messages and call minutes, discounts and freebies available from a number of shops, restaurants, and hotels, among others.

With the enhanced program, Globe and Out There are introducing a next-generation permission-based mobile advertising service for opt-in customers. Globe subscribers will be able to choose the mobile ads they want to receive from their preferred brands or products and services they want to try. This ensures they do not receive ads that they are not interested in.

Globe subscribers will be asked if they want to sign in for the service after which they will provide their own demographic and lifestyle characteristics. If the subscriber opts to receive mobile ads,he can earn points redeemable against discounts and free gifts from the loyalty program.

Globe explained that advertisers can now enhance their media mix with a new medium that ensured advanced targetting capabilities, consumer engagement, better responsiveness, maximum audience reach, and highly effective brand awareness.

At the same time, consumers will be able to receive premium and exclusive benefits, offer and information directly relevant to their needs, interests, and lifestyle.

Out There has partnership agreements with 24 network operators across Europe and Asia, and is expected to reach 500 million subscribers soon, from the present 380 million.

Trikalitis noted that the global mobile advertising market is expected to increase from last year’s $900 million to $13.5 billion by 2013, a chunk of which will be coming from Asia.