Leading French and African Mobile Ads companies sign pioneering partnership
Sofialys, has announced that it has inked a partnership with top Nigerian New Media Group Terragon Limited, in a bid to expand its global presence. Under the terms of the deal, the Paris-based company will provide its Ad Serving technology to the Twinpine Network – the mobile advertising arm of Terragon Limited, granting exclusive right of use of their software for almost the entire sub-Saharan region of Africa.
After moving into the APAC region in 2010, Sofialys’ decision to target the African market is yet another step in its long term objective of expanding its global footprint to establish itself as a world-leading provider of ad serving technology. Similarly, for Twinpine Network, a Lagos-based Mobile Advertising firm which has offices in Accra and Nairobi, the decision to sign with a European-based partner demonstrates not only its international outlook, but also its confidence in the quality of Sofialys’ technology. Working with major players within the African mobile eco-system, with a focus of enabling publishers monetize their mobile sites and also provide advertisers with an aggregation of the most exciting mobile sites to reach their customers, Twinpine is entirely focused on Africa where the opportunities for mobile are tremendous.
Mobile advertising
Indeed, a recent study, which interviewed 2,500 consumers in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria and discussed overall comfort with mobile ads, perceived benefits, willingness to receive ads and interest in major brands across four categories (automotive, travel, consumer electronics and entertainment), demonstrated how 69 per cent of Africans are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ comfortable with mobile advertising. This is the highest ratio in the world with the United States and Europe trailing behind at only 61 per cent.
The significance is implicit; African publishers have a tremendous opportunity to capitalise on this consumer interest in mobile. Early movers will grab a massive share of the market ahead of competitors in this channel. Additionally, African consumers perceive mobile advertising’s major benefit as being “helping me find new information”.
This has major implications for brands who should run large burst campaigns to support new products or new feature introductions since early adopters will be rewarded with a nearly 100 per cent share of voice. “We see a significant opportunity in Africa for advertising initiatives,” says Sofialys CEO, Mokhtar Bouchelaghem. ”The way in which Africa’s half a billion subscribers engage with content, coupled with excellent campaign effectiveness and response levels means that the continent is extremely well-positioned to embrace mobile advertising. We are extremely proud to be able to work with such a pioneering partner as Twinpine Network and are looking forward to a very long and fruitful collaboration.”
According to Elo Umeh, CEO of Terragon Limited, “African consumers clearly consider the mobile to be the primary screen in their lives, therefore publishers in Africa have a tremendous opportunity to provide local content and grow their business simultaneously. Thanks to our solid partnership with Sofialys, we will be able to capitalise on this and help African publishers and advertisers to offer genuine value in the creative and the content of their mobile advertising. Consequently, mobile advertising will not only enable them to increase their ROI but will also improve the consumer experience across the region.”
