Mobile marketing service provider SoundBite Communications has acquired the American business unit of 2ergo Group for $3.8 million. 

SoundBite created a mobile services business last summer when it acquired SmartReply and has watched its mobile business grow significantly following that deal. With the purchase of 2ergo Americas, SoundBite is trying to position itself as a leading mobile marketing services provider.

?In the fourth quarter, we had our best financial results ever and a very big driver of that has been our mobile marketing business,? said Mark Friedman, general manager of mobile for SoundBite Communications, Bedford, MA. ?We are finding tremendous demand to provide mobile services.

?With this acquisition we are now clearly a top player in mobile marketing,? he said.

?We are looking to develop a powerhouse in mobile marketing.?

New capabilities
2ergo is an international mobile business and marketing solutions company. Its clients include Fox News, Fox Sports, U.S. Cellular and Procter & Gamble.

The 2ergo Americas acquisition extends SoundBite's client base to include leading companies in the telecom, media and consumer packaged goods industries. 2ergo Americas unit has a current annualized revenue run rate of approximately $3.5 million.

The deal also enhances SoundBite's existing mobile marketing offering by bringing new capabilities such as self-service SMS, mobile coupons, QR code and mobile Web platforms, as well as carrier-grade scalability and Latin American connectivity.

The self-serve capability will enable clients with the in-house capabilities to run their own mobile campaigns. SoundBite also offers a full strategic service for those who are looking for this kind of support.

?We have agency partners, providers of loyalty programs for our clients and others who have the expertise in terms of understanding mobile marketing and want to do it themselves,? Mr. Friedman said.

?In this company, we found a team that is passionate about mobile marketing and that has a great set of clients with some of the largest telecos, media and consumer packaged goods companies in the world,? he said.

SoundBite Communications and 2ergo Group have also formed a strategic alliance to resell each other?s services, including podifi, a new contactless redemption and in-store location service that include mobile couponing, loyalty, payment and in-store check-in solutions. The 2ergo service will be resold by SoundBite in North America.

SoundBite Communications is a leading global provider of cloud-based customer communications solutions. The company?s other area of focus besides mobile marketing is a hosted contact center.

?We are in a great position to continue to build out our mobile marketing offering and deliver value to our clients,? Mr. Friedman said.

?We are very committed to the opportunity to enable our clients to harvest the power and the ubiquity of the mobile device to build life-long profitable relationships with their customers,? he said.

?We are now one of the top players and we ain?t done yet.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York