Nokia acquires Enpocket, eyeing mobile advertising business

Nokia, which has recently ventured into the consumer Internet space by launching a portal Ovi offering download of music, games and maps on mobile devices, has now acquired a US-based mobile advertising company, Enpocket. With this acquisition, it’s clear that Nokia is now eyeing opportunities beyond its hardware business.

Tero Ojanperä, chief technology officer, Nokia, says, “Nokia has already announced its intention to be a leading company in consumer Internet services and we believe that mobile advertising will be an important element in monetising those services for our customers and partners. Enpocket’s mature leading edge platform and people expertise are a strong fit with Nokia’s existing capabilities in the mobile advertising market.”

Enpocket basically provides the technology to develop, execute and manage various types of mobile advertising campaigns like SMS, MMS and video ads. It also acts as a mobile advertising network and has tie-ups with mobile operators worldwide to which it serves ads from its inventory.

As a part of campaign management, Enpocket studies mobile use patterns and, apart from delivering targeted campaigns, it also does delivery reporting or provides analytics to advertisers. Thus, the Enpocket affiliation with operators and consumers will definitely help Nokia to get insights on both these groups.

“In India, Enpocket serves various clients like Axis Bank, Toyota, Visa, ICICI Bank and Citibank and it has a tie-up with Airtel at the moment, while talks are on with other mobile operators and publishers as well,” says Sandy Agarwal, managing director, Asia Pacific, Enpocket. Globally, Enpocket provides advertising solutions to brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and P&G.

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