mKhoj rebrands to InMobi

The rebranding came about when the mobile ad network company's decided to expand its global operations beyond Africa and the Middle East to Europe and the US

Bengaluru-based mobile ad network company, mKhoj, which started operations in early 2007, has been rebranded to InMobi.

Speaking to afaqs!, Abhay Singhal, co-founder and head, global ad sales, mKhoj, says, "The primary reason behind renaming mKhoj lies in the fact that we are expanding globally. We have figured out that there is no uniformity in the pronunciation of mKhoj among people outside India. As a result, we have opted to rebrand it."

He adds, "We are no more in the business of mobile local deals search, so it does not make sense to have a name like mKhoj, wherein 'Khoj' signifies search." The company closed down its local deals and promotions search business in September 2007 to concentrate on its mobile ad network business.

mKhoj will expand in Europe and the US. It has already established its presence in UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain and has created a team of three business development members. It will later set up operations in northern and eastern European nations. The company already offers ad network solutions in some African and Middle East countries.

Citing the reasons for eyeing business in Europe, Singhal points out, "Higher mobile penetration and telecom operators' revenue share with mobile value-added service (VAS) providers, apart from evolved marketers, are the key reasons to establish our presence across Europe."

Singhal claims that a country like Italy has about 100 per cent mobile penetration and telecom operators in European countries share 40-60 per cent of their VAS revenue with the mobile VAS players, which is much higher than the 20-40 per cent in India.

He adds that marketers in Europe are more evolved and demand more engagement-driven mobile ad campaigns. InMobi has already signed a liquor brand as its client in Italy.

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