ASIA-PACIFIC – NEW DELHI, INDIA, MAY 5, 2011 – MPG, the flagship brand of Havas Media, has announced the launch of mobile marketing brand Mobext in Asia with India being chosen one of the first markets for the roll out. Within this year, the brand is slated to be launched in China, Indonesia and Philippines.
Mobext, specializing in Mobile Marketing, is currently present in eight markets globally. It will offer comprehensive services which includes messaging services like sms and download; mobile internet services like WAP consulting and development, mobile display, mobile search; proximity based services including LBS and mapping. It will also offer integration through reporting and analytics by Havas Digital’s campaign management platform.
The network agency currently handles a host of blue chip clients in different parts of the world including Nike, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Fanta, Kia, Volvo, BMW , Peugeot, Citroen, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, BBC, Dell, Sears among others.
Commenting on the launch of Mobext, Vishnu Mohan, CEO of MPG and Havas Media, Asia Pacific, said: “Asia presents an enormous potential in the mobile space with high levels of penetration, installed base and growth rates. All our clients have needs in this space and we want to ensure that as a media agency we are not neglecting such an important medium and one that will gain even more prominence in the future. What better market to launch than India, which has whopping 790 million mobile users currently and is also a key market for the group in Asia Pacific region.”
The agency has made senior appointments as part of the launch with Arnav Neel Ghosh appointed as the General Manager for South Asia. Ashutosh V. Shrivastava takes on the Business Director role. The team in India, which bring substantial mobile marketing experience, is likely to be expanded in the next few months.
Ghosh was most recently the Executive Vice-President of Digital at Iris Nation and has previously worked in senior roles at Publicis Modem and Active Media Technology, a UK based mobile marketing company. Shrivastava was most recently the Associate Director of Mobile Marketing at ACL Wireless and has had stints at Mobile2Win and ConnectTurf.
Anita Nayyar, CEO of MPG & Havas Media, South Asia, said: "In Arnav and Ashutosh we have identified the right candidates to take charge of Mobext. Arnav’s experience in successfully launching and managing agencies will be invaluable for us while Ashutosh’s hands on experience with cutting edge mobile campaigns will be a real asset for our clients.”
