Start-up launches utility to tap into lucrative mobile ad market

UK-based start-up, Eureka Mobile Advertising, is tapping into the lucrative mobile advertising space with new phone utility that it claims monetises the idle screen to deliver content to target subscribers.

The new mobile advertising service is built on proprietary technology and will be released in partnership with telecom operators and brands. It is available on Google Android and will shortly be made available on other smartphone platforms.

For subscribers that opt in to continue using Eureka and receiving content and relevant adverts, the service offers a host of rewards and is planning a loyalty program. The service allows consumers to pause ads, but only rewards them when they allow the service to deliver ad collateral.

Eureka claims it will also share better ROI, greater transparency and insights with brands and that advertisers only pay when the customer views their ad.

The platform has been piloted in India with one of the country’s telecom operators and is expected to be launched in two additional markets by 2014. Eureka is headquartered in London and has an office in Mumbai.

“With the kind of power that the mobile phone wields, it has become the single most important tool for marketers,” Eureka founder and CEO, Rahul S Jayawant, said. “With our pilot launch completed in India over the last eight weeks, we have seen overwhelming enthusiasm for our service from subscribers and CMOs.

“Over the next year, we aim to be present in multiple markets across the world. We see immense potential in this technology.”

Eureka has been founded by Jayawant, a former employee of HCL Technologies, Accenture and L&T Infotech, in partnership with fellow technology veteran, Yogesh Sholapurkar.

According to the Internet Advertising Bureau’s latest Australian Mobile Advertising Landscape report, mobile ad expenditure reached $86.2m in 2012, a rise of 220 per cent year-on-year. It also found smartphone penetration is more than 70 per cent

Globally, telecom research firm, Berg Insight, claims the market for mobile ads is likely to grow at 37 per cent every year to US$22 billion in 2016, from the $3.4 billion in 2010.

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