Group Press Releases
Aegis Commits to Leadership in Mobile Marketing with Acquisition of Marvellous Mobile
14 June 2007
Aegis Group plc (“Aegis”), the media communications and marketing services group, today announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire Marvellous Ideas Limited (“Marvellous Mobile”). Marvellous Mobile had gross assets of £0.8m as at 31 March 2007.
With 2.7 billion mobiles in use worldwide, of which 20% have 3G capabilities, mobile is expected to become a significant global marketing medium in the near future.
Marvellous Mobile is a leader in mobile marketing, winning a number of awards for its work. Its services cover creative, design, build, hosting and measurement, and it has developed its own proprietary global technology platform, known as MHub.
Recent work by Marvellous Mobile includes a mobile site and launch marketing for the Peugeot 207, a mobile site and marketing support programme for Vodafone Enterprise, a ‘stop smoking’ support plan for GSK’s Niquitin and a mobile game and video site for Lucozade.
In addition, Marvellous Mobile has collaborated for the past year with Isobar, the world’s largest digital agency network, and part of Aegis, to create the Sprite Yard. The Sprite Yard is a mobile content platform and interactive community created for The Coca-Cola Company’s Sprite brand. Launched in China earlier this month, and going live in the US in July, the Yard is a unique environment that lets consumers communicate, play games, share photos, and organise events using any data or browser-enabled mobile device. Content redemption is driven primarily through product usage.
Isobar has been developing mobile programmes for clients for some time. The acquisition of Marvellous Mobile creates a leadership position in the UK and a global centre of excellence. The MHub platform and Marvellous’s technology skills will be applied across the world.
Commenting on the acquisition, Robert Lerwill, CEO of Aegis, said:
“We believe the time of mobile is here. Mobile puts communications into the hands of consumers - quite literally. Technology and handset penetration are now at a point where imaginative and interactive content is becoming a reality. Already research shows that mobile marketing can be an extremely powerful force, whether as a standalone access point, or as part of an integrated communications plan. Aegis has long been known as a leader, and having pioneered the way in online services, we intend to do the same in the global mobile space.”
For further information contact:
Charlotte Elston
Aegis Group plc
+44 (0) 20 7070 7708
Tim Spratt / Charles Palmer
Financial Dynamics
+44 (0) 20 7831 3113
