Vserv.mobi helps Asian print publishers get ‘app’ified’

• Delivering 100+ apps across growth markets; partnerships with more than 30 print publishers
• Opportunity for brands looking to target ads based on readership patterns: Samsung exec

MOBILE advertising exchange Vserv.mobi said it has helped more than 30 leading print publishers ‘app’ify’ their content across emerging markets through its ‘App’ification’ mobile offering.
 
The offering has seen print publishers such as the India Today group, Vaartha, Pioneer Book Co, Rajasthan Patrika, Detikcom, Antara, Utusan and others reach out to a larger audience spectrum through mobile apps, Vserv.mobi said in a statement.
 
The company said it has rolled out over 100 apps across multiple languages, categories and operating systems with this initiative.
 
“Towards the beginning of 2013, we realised that consumption of content on mobile was potentially the next big phase in the industry,” said Prashant Dixit, director of global business development at Vserv.mobi.
 
“With print readership migrating to digital, content publishers were looking at various models of addressing the shift of audiences in emerging markets.
 
“With the rise of mobile internet users, the solution was to create an ‘App’ortunity that would benefit the industry,” he added.
 
Prashant said the ‘App’ification’ initiative engaged traditional newspapers, magazines and other content publishers.
 
“This strategy by Vserv to help multilingual content publishers ‘App’ify their content comes at the right time,” said Aman Malhotra, digital marketing head at Samsung India.
 
“Publishers creating apps in local languages give us an opportunity to extend our relationship with them into a new medium.
 
“The strategy to ‘App’ify content is a boost to the publisher industry. It has also opened a window of opportunity to various brands looking to target ads based on readership patterns.
 
“With content delivered directly to mobile phones, brands such as Samsung will be able to micro-target their advertising dollars towards customers by tailoring concepts based on the user’s language and content preferences,” added Aman.
 
Through this initiative, Vserv.mobi claimed it has played a pivotal role in enabling content for publishers across languages such as English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayalam, Malay and Swahili, with many more to be added soon.
 
Aligning with publishers’ target audience groups, the ‘App’ification strategy has been carried out across operating systems like Android, iOS and Windows Phone, the company added.
 
“With the increase in 3G infrastructure and adoption of smartphones, mobile consumers from emerging market are looking for regional content,” said Gerry Leo Nugroho, marketing head at detikcom.
 
“Through the ‘Wolipop’ app, we were able to take content directly to the consumers. While consumers were one part of the puzzle, the ability to monetise the app was a great strategy by Vserv.mobi, giving us an alternative revenue model as well,” he added.
 
With its AudiencePro and AppWrapper platforms, Vserv.mobi said it has delivered mobile advertising experiences for leading Fortune 500 brands and digital media companies across 200 countries.
 
The company was founded in January 2010 and has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Dubai, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.
 
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