Alcatel-Lucent's Optism mobile marketing product will provide Mobinil's customers with a permission and preference-based mobile advertising service. The service invites Mobinil's nearly 30 million customers to opt-in to receive ads and offers from brands. By sharing their interests with Mobinil, customers can receive promotions, discounts, content etc.
During an initial soft launch more than 200,000 subscribers opted-in and used the service successfully. Advertiser partners at launch included Adidas and Nokia who both have experienced higher response rates in comparison to other digital media.
"In response to the dynamic situation in the mobile industry, Mobinil is naturally involved in an array of multi-faceted business partnerships, which includes being an internet service provider, a banking services provider, an entertainment portal, or a media agency. It is in this context that we are entering into this strategic partnership with Alcatel-Lucent in this area," said Hassan Kabbani, Mobinil CEO.
"The advertisers in the service have had phenomenal response rates to their campaigns - as high as 35% due to the focus on the users' interests, so our customers only receive relevant ads," added Kabbani.
Adidas, one of the world's leading sportswear brands, was an early adopter of Mobinil Ads.
"We recently ran a campaign with Mobinil to invite customers to our new flagship store in Cairo," said Burga Hatipoglu, marketing manager Egypt for Adidas. "The response was way beyond our expectations and we are very excited about the potential of this new form of advertising."
"Alcatel-Lucent is creating the conditions and the ecosystem to quickly develop a sustainable and profitable mobile advertising business for Mobinil, thanks to an innovative business model," said Amr El-Leithy, head of Alcatel-Lucent business in the Middle East & Africa. "This commercial contract illustrates our commitment to helping mobile operators identify strategic market opportunities and determine the appropriate business model for their market."
