Supply Side is a series of occasional insights about suppliers of products and services. This Q&A is with Steven Minisini, CEO of Marketron. The company is an affiliate of the Wicks Group of Companies (and thus is a distant cousin to Radio World, part of NewBay Media, another affiliate).
RW: What is Marketron Mobile, and what’s going on in that space that radio managers need to know about?
Minisini: The media landscape’s aggressive focus on digital has changed the way radio groups operate and drive new revenue growth. While some pure-play Internet proponents say this rise in digital means an end for radio, Marketron sees just the opposite.
We believe strongly in the opportunity for radio groups to leverage one of digital’s fastest growing channels: mobile. With mobile advertising revenues expected to grow to $4.2 billion in 2015, up from $1 billion in 2010, according to research firm Coda Research Consultancy, there is tremendous opportunity for radio to thrive.
But in order for radio groups to tap into this fast-growing advertising segment, they need the right technology platform and applications which have not been available until now.
In September, Marketron acquired mSnap, the largest broadcast-based mobile advertising network in the U.S. and leading provider of mobile advertising solutions. mSnap’s network consists of 30 million unique subscribers and 1,4000 publishers and serves 250 million SMS-based ad messages per month.
Marketon’s acquisition of mSnap enabled us to create Marketron Mobile, the solution that opens the door to mobile advertising for radio groups and other media companies.
Marketron Mobile is a solution delivered via Marketron Exchange, our flagship platform, that arms radio groups, mobile advertisers and publishers with whom they collaborate a mobile messaging solution, content platform and advertising network capable of targeting highly specific audiences on a large scale.
Marketron Mobile represents the natural progression of Marketron’s strategy to help advance the radio industry through digital technology and channels, such as mobile. Now radio groups can confidently and easily extend themselves into digital and deliver mobile campaigns that ensure adoption, scale and measurable results.
Tapping into the vast distribution channel that Marketron Mobile provides, radio groups will now see new digital revenue streams open up.
