(Source: Business Wire)
Apptera and AOL today announced that the Moviefone interactive voice recognition service, one of the nation's largest phone-based movie showtime services, will use Apptera's voice and visual mobile advertising technology to manage and monetize Moviefone's 40 million annual calls. Beginning this fall, callers to Moviefone will hear a new and improved speech based interface that still uses the famous "Mr. Moviefone" voice and is still accessible by dialing '777-FILM' from local area codes.
The deal expands Apptera's reach into the movie showtime and ticket-ordering industry, highlights the growth of Apptera's MobileAd Xchange, which now reaches an estimated 100 million callers a year with ads based on their geography and buying preferences. The company targets the "trend-spreader" demographic of mobile, connected 18 to 34-year-old consumers, who love to share their passion for music and movies with their peers and social networks.
"As one of the premiere online and offline destinations for film fans, Moviefone continues to experience tremendous growth among fans and advertisers while simultaneously developing and deepening our partnerships with movie studios to develop new and innovative programs to create awareness for upcoming releases," said AOL Senior Vice President Mike Rich. "This new partnership with Apptera helps us further drive advertising revenue while improving our consumer experience on the phone."
Apptera's mobile advertising technology offers contextual multimedia promotions to callers when they interact with speech-enabled movie show time applications. For example, callers could choose to get a phone call or SMS reminder when another movie is about to premiere or a promotion code for a movie sponsor's product. The Apptera technology and advertising network could also be used to enhance a user's night out.
"Someone who calls for tickets to a G-rated movie could be served an ad from a nearby restaurant offering free dessert for the kids after the show," said Randy Haldeman, Apptera's chief marketing officer. "There are 120 million people represented by the movie showtime services we manage, and half of them buy a meal before or after attending the theater. It's a laser-focused advertising opportunity for restaurant chains. In addition, this service could also be used to distribute promotion codes to the mobile phones of this vast movie-going audience, so that the companies placing products in movies can extend their brands beyond the theaters and into the hands of this desirable 'trend-spreader' demographic."
About Apptera
Apptera powers the world's leading voice and visual mobile ad marketplace. Apptera's MobileAd Technology generates revenue for Free-411 services, social music services and movie ticketing applications. The services are provided in-call, at the exact moment a consumer is interacting with a business over the phone. Dozens of companies have adopted Apptera's technology and through these customers, more than 1,800 businesses in the entertainment, communications and retail industries use Apptera's award-winning solutions. Founded in 2001, Apptera is a privately held Silicon Valley-based technology company funded by leading venture capital firms. For additional information, visit www.apptera.com.
About Moviefone
Moviefone continually ranks as one of the web's most popular movie focused websites and is a premiere online destination for movie tickets, celebrity and movie news, as well as original features and interviews, including "Unscripted," Moviefone's signature series in which top celebrities interview each other using fan submitted questions. Moviefone also owns and operates the popular Moviefone Interactive Voice Recognition service, accessed by dialing "777-FILM." Learn more at www.moviefone.com.
About AOL
AOL(R) is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.
Apptera, the Apptera logo, Apptera MobileAd Manager and Apptera MobileAd Xchange are registered trademarks, service marks or trademarks in the United States and/or in other countries. All other company names, product names, brands, or trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
