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2ergo: in brief
Type of agency: full service.
Founded: 1999.
Acquisitions:
• July 2009 – Active Media Technologies (mobile ticketing, couponing and loyalty schemes, India).
• May 2009 – Wapfly Technologies (mobile marketing company, Australia).
• April 2009 – Broca (mobile security specialist).
• September , 2006 – Proteus (mobile services company, USA).
Main offices: Manchester (HQ), London, UK; Washington DC, USA; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sydney, Australia; Mumbai, New Delhi, India.
Employees (in mobile): 200.
Ownership: 2ergo is a public company, listed on the London AIM market.
Contact details: info [at] 2ergo.com.
Web: 2ergo.com.
Mobile Web: N/A.
Recent news: See press releases.
Profile submitted by: Colin McCaffrey, director of products, 2ergo.
Profile first published: December 2010.
2ergo: in depth
1) Global annual revenue from mobile: UK £22.7 million (US $35.2 million).
2) Is the mobile business profitable? Yes.
3) How is the company funded? Significant shareholders as of December 2010 included: Barry Sharples, Neale Graham, Aviva plc, Nigel Wray, Standard Life Investments and Trevor Bladon.
4) Proportion of business related to mobile: 100%.
5) Business split (strategy %; creative %; technical %): N/A.
6) Key mobile activities: 2ergo is an international provider of software solutions for mobile phone and smartphone marketing, business communications, mobile websites, mobile entertainment, mobile news and mobile banking.
7) Specialties/expertise: 2ergo is the largest commercial provider of mobile news in the USA and the only provider of secure mobile phone money transfers that are both PIN protected and encrypted. The product portfolio includes an innovative suite of interactive messaging, mobile internet and publishing, smartphone applications, mobile ticketing and coupons, mobile security and secure payment solutions.
8) Main competitors: N/A.
9) Type of clients/industries: retail; fast-moving consumer goods and brands; media; entertainment; sports; mobile operators; SMEs.
10) Client base with links to case studies: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC); AT&T; Blockbuster; Evo-Stik; Fidelity International; Fox News; US National Guard (with LM&O Advertising); National Car Rental; National Geographic Channel; O2; Hopenhagen (with Ogilvy & Mather); Orange Wednesdays; P&G Olay; Phones4U; Rightmove; Universal Pictures Mexico; Virgin Mobile; Whitbread.
11) Geographical coverage (with % of revenues): N/A.
12) Works most closely with (apart from clients): 2ergo works with some of the world’s most respected marketing and advertising agencies, including BBH and McCann Erickson, as well as market research leader Kantar Operations and business intelligence organizations such as Data Lateral and GroupM.
13) Award-winning campaigns:
a) Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) mobile site and app
• World Summit Awards 2010: m-media and news.
2ergo developed a location-based mobile site and mobile applications for iPhone, Java and Android for the Australian broadcaster ABC. ABC Mobile received 2.2 million page views from December 2008 to June 2009, while the ABC mobile app was downloaded over 140,000 times in its first four months.
b) Guardian mobile app
• Association of Online Publishers Awards 2010: Innovation Award.
• World Summit Awards 2010: m-media and news: (won jointly with the Guardian mobile site).
The app for the UK’s Guardian newspaper was designed to appeal to a mobile audience seeking a new, more intuitive user experience. It has exceeded sales targets, was the first ‘serious content app’ to deliver a #1 spot in the Apple App Store. The app was downloaded more than 100,000 times in its first three months and recently featured in a TV advertising campaign for the Apple iPhone. The AOP Judges said: “Broke the mould of how content to mobile can be monetized.”
Video advertisement for the Guardian mobile app.
• The profile continues below.
c) Rightmove mobile app
• The Revolution Awards 2010: Best Use of Mobile
The Rightmove Mobile App allows mobile users to search for properties by postcode or GPS and provides property information as well as immediate access to the agent through a ‘Call Me’ button. The app reached #1 in the iTunes App Store within the first week of release and was selected as one of Apple’s Top 30 ‘Best Apps of 2009’.
Video advertisement for the Rightmove mobile.
• The profile continues below.
d) US Army National Guard: “Warrior” mobile site
• Webby Awards 2009: Official Honoree.
The “Warrior” mobile site supported Army National Guard “Warrior” recruitment campaign. It featured free downloads of the “Warrior” film, an MP3, wallpaper and recruiter contact form. In the first two months, the mobile site served over 50,000 page views to thousands of unique visitors who downloaded 18,000 MP3s, 6,000 videos and 1,200 wallpapers.
d) MSN/Fox Sports Fantasy Football mobile site
• Webby Awards 2009: Official Honoree.
The MSN/Fox Sports Fantasy Football site allowed players to manage their fantasy American football teams directly from their mobile phones. The mobile site served millions of page views throughout the football season.
e) Fox Business Mobile Site
• Webby Awards 2008: Official Honoree (USA).
14) Other Awards and commendations:
• Upshot 50 Awards 2009
• Deloitte Fast 50 Awards 2008
• Mobile Excellence Award 2008: “Best Innovator, Mobile Technology” for Mobile Site Builder.
• Mobile Star Award 2008 for Mobile Site Builder.
15) How do you sell mobile to your clients?
More and more companies are leveraging the unique characteristics of the mobile channel in order to attract and retain customers, and generate new revenue streams through existing and emerging technologies such as smartphone applications, mobile banking, mobile CRM and mobile commerce.
Companies can assess the success of each mobile communication channel and build a customer profile based on the response to each customer interaction, tailoring their communication to a certain method, content, time of day and frequency, ensuring more targeted, relevant, effective communications with a better ROI.
In a competitive market, a sound mobile marketing strategy can help retailers to revolutionize results – attracting new customers and fostering loyalty to generate repeat business. 2ergo data shows that response rates to a well-targeted mobile campaign average around 30%, but, despite the obvious benefits, many retailers are failing to make even a modest investment in mobile marketing.
16) What return on investment (ROI) should your clients expect from mobile? N/A.
17) Membership of industry bodies/associations:
• British Retail Consortium (BRC).
• Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).
• Econsultancy.
• Association of Online Publishers (AOP).
• Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).
• Manchester Digital.
18) What needs to happen to accelerate mobile marketing/Web/services over the next five years? Brands need to develop a mobile marketing strategy as part of their wider marketing strategy – not as a standalone solution. This will help them to increase their service offering – developing solutions that go beyond text and voice.
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