Bharti Airtel forays into mobile advertising segment

New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has forayed into Indai's mobile advertising segment, a company official said here Sunday.

Airtel's m-Advertising platform is designed to meet demands of advertisers such as inventory management, campaign management, reporting and analytics. Airtel will equip advertisers to connect with their potential customers in a personalised way through their mobile phones. K. Srinivas, president-consumer business, Bharti Airtel, said.

India's mobile advertising market currently is valued at over Rs.100 crore and is expected to reach Rs.144 crore by 2013, according to a report jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and research firm IMRB.

"Personalisation, sharp segmentation and contextualisation are increasingly making this platform exciting proposition for brands," Srinivas said.

"With the mobile advertising market poised to grow by more than 40 percent over the next few years, Airtel with its technology, scale and customer intelligence is placed uniquely to leverage this growing medium," he added.

Through this platform, advertisers will be able to leverage multiple communications outlets and tools such as mobile internet (WAP), messaging services and Airtel digital TV to engage their audiences, according to Srinivas.

It will not only create opportunities for increasing brand saliency but also conversions using technologies such as mobile couponing for segments such as youth and smartphone users. With this platform, companies can also extend their access to the rural audience with voice solutions, Srinivas said.