Navteq invests in Acuity Mobile

By Giselle Tsirulnik

February 7, 2008

The Acuity Mobile platform allows for campaign management, tracking and reporting

Location-based service provider Navteq has invested an undisclosed sum in Acuity Mobile to grow the mobile marketing service provider's advertising capabilities.

Navteq, Chicago, has also extended its licensing of Acuity Mobile technology. This investment and the resulting collaboration will let Navteq improve its ability to meet the growing demand for interactive advertising delivered onto location-aware devices.

"This funding will allow us to add to our staff on the technical side and we will also incorporate new stuff into the platform," said Gregg Smith, CEO of Acuity Mobile, Washington.

Acuity Mobile's embedded mobile advertising platform technology offers geographically targeted advertising. The company provides platform-independent, real-time, interactive advertising content which can be targeted based on relevance of offer, recipient preference and precise location.

The Acuity Mobile platform also allows for campaign management, tracking, reporting and APIs for integration of ads into most applications across platforms.

Consumers will have advertising move with them, as their mobile mapping applications unobtrusively present ads, offers, coupons, or other promotions, based on their opted-in preferences.

The ads will feature audio, rich graphics, or calls to action such as routing to the closest advertiser storefront.

"We have a carrier and a number of other companies using the platform," Mr. Smith said. "We just can't say which ones. We have been serving the hospitality, travel, entertainment, retail and financial verticals.

"Mobile marketing allows a brand to make a one-to-one relationship with their customer," he said. "I expect it to be a multi-billion-dollar market by 2010."