Alcatel-Lucent launches new mobile advertising platform

Alcatel-Lucent is getting into the mobile advertising space. The company is creating a brand new media arm focused on media buyers. Called Optism, the new service provides ad buyers with a Web-based tool that lets them purchase permission-based campaigns and analyze results.

Ad agencies are responding, said David Kyffin, WPP group Mediacom's global chief of ROI and direct marketing officer. “Clients are increasingly asking if they can run campaigns over multiple regions and at scale. Alcatel-Lucent's operating model and access to multiple mobile operators is a big step toward meeting these requirements.”

Optism provides go-to-market support for operators, combined with media sales and campaign management for advertisers, using permission and stated preferences to deliver advertising to subscribers’ mobile phones. A revenue-sharing business model, the company says, empowers operators to play a more significant role in the ecosystem.

“Fragmentation and lack of scale have acted as a brake on mobile advertising, deterring the advertising community and slowing overall growth," said Eden Zoller, Ovum Consumer Practice principal analyst. "Alcatel-Lucent’s aggregated approach is working to address these issues and as such is a positive step in the right direction."