A few months have passed since I last discussed the flourishing mobile marketing industry in South Africa. Nonetheless, I still receive email from time to time inquiring about the latest mobile emergences from that part of the world. Although I’ve assured all that I’m far from a South African mobile marketing know-it-all, I have kept my ear to the pipeline with regard to advancements by our friends across the globe.
I use the word “advancement” because it is my long held belief that South Africa could prove an unexpected breeding ground for mobile marketing discoveries and improvements that could shape the global reach of the entire mobile marketing industry. Why? Because mobile advertisers and consumers in South Africa have more rapidly and less apprehensively adopted mobile marketing as a way of life.
More proof of this conviction comes from today’s announcement that Mybeat Interactive has outgrown its status as a target of venture capital support. In fact, it has now become 40% owned by Shake Interactive, a Cape Town, South Africa digital marketing company.
Mybeat specializes in mobile media and interactive technologies, and works with advertising agencies to develop campaigns to target consumers for clients including L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson and Virgin Mobile.
Mobile advertisers in the US and UK are frequently working in conjunction with South African mobile marketing firms for the purposes of collaboration or outsourcing their projects entirely.
Keep an eye on South Africa and look for trends and advancements to emerge that will rapidly appear in the states and, more importantly, promote a culture of mobile marketing comfort that could have subtle but significant effects on the industry as a whole.
