Affle Wins the Prestigious Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation Award for SMS2.0

MUMBAI, India, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Affle has been awarded the prestigious Product Innovation Award for its product SMS2.0 in 2009 by global growth consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. This award is an acknowledgement of Affle's significant contribution to the mobile application and advertising market.

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The Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation Award is presented to the company that has demonstrated excellence in launching innovative products and technologies within their industry. For the award, Frost & Sullivan took into consideration uniqueness of the product, leverage of leading edge technologies, value added benefits offered to the consumers, increased customer value, and customer acquisition potential to determine the award recipient.

Affle SMS2.0 is built on the popularity of peer-to-peer messaging with a next generation messaging application, aiming to capture customers' attention through the SMS screen. Affle SMS2.0 enhances customer experience by providing a personalized, non-intrusive messaging experience with the best features of MMS, instant messaging, and email integrated, thereby becoming a stepping stone for many consumers into the world of mobile internet. Its popularity is depicted by the rapid rate at which it has been adding subscribers as well as operators. Five of the country's operators have partnered with Affle to offer enhanced messaging services.

The product has also enabled operators to generate increased revenue in two streams - advertising and content. As a result of being able to deliver targeted, interactive content to users, Affle's SMS2.0 has a higher click through rate than comparable online media, translating to higher advertiser stickiness and revenues.

Mr. Girish Trivedi, Deputy Director - ICT Practice, South Asia and Middle East, Frost & Sullivan, said, "Due to lack of clarity on monetization, peer-to-peer (p2p) messages, which form the maximum share of messages exchanged in the country, has been a segment largely left untapped. With focus on non-intrusive, interactive, and contextual marketing, integrated messaging experience and compatibility with a wide range of end user terminals, Affle SMS2.0 has created a new model for mobile advertising, which is now being well received by subscribers and operators."

Mr. Anuj Khanna, CEO, Affle, said, "Affle's SMS2.0 is a significant innovation that redefines SMS into "Social Messaging and Search". Users of SMS2.0 enjoy the blend of rich messaging with fun features like colors and emoticons together with mobile internet with useful content and search services delivered free of cost. SMS2.0 was first commercialized by Bharti Airtel and the innovative business model has now been adopted by the top five mobile network operators in India as well as by top carriers in five other countries."

According to Frost & Sullivan, Affle's SMS2.0 contribution has revolutionized mobile application and advertising market. In a short span of two years, SMS2.0 has risen to be a top mobile media channel with interest in the application increasing amongst operators, advertisers, and subscribers alike.

About Frost and Sullivan:
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 45 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com

About Affle

Affle is a leading mobile media company that offers cutting-edge mobile media technologies with a value proposition for consumers and business partners. The solutions and products from Affle have been especially designed to enhance user experience and make mobile media a reality. Affle currently operates in five countries including the UK, India, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. Affle has already established strong partnerships with leading Mobile Network Operators, Original Equipment Manufacturers, Content Publishers, Media Agencies, and Advertisers across various geographies to successfully enable its business.

    Contact:
    Ravinder Kaur
    Corporate Communications - South Asia and Middle East
    P: +91 44 42044515
    E: ravinder.kaur@frost.com

    Amrita Nandi
    Corporate Communications - South Asia
    P: +91.22.40013424
    F: +91.22.2832 4713
    E: amritan@frost.com