Mobile marketing company Proteus has re-branded to become 2ergo Americas Inc. as part of its British parent company's plans to expand its business globally.

The move is British parent 2ergo Group plc's attempt to strengthen its position as a global brand by increasing brand awareness in the United States and Latin America, where Proteus has operated. 2ergo Americas' clients include Fox, HBO, Disney, NBC Universal, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Scripps Networks, The Washington Post, AT&T, MasterCard and Motorola.

"We've been able to garner a tremendous list of blue-chip clients, including a seven-year relationship with six different entities within News Corp. and financial services giant Citigroup," said Guy Vidra, president of 2ergo Americas, Arlington, VA. "This is 2ergo's foray into the U.S. market, and they found a company, Proteus, that meshed well with theirs and a product suite that complements theirs."

Officially becoming 2ergo Americas provides Proteus with greater access to 2ergo's products, resources and European reach to further enhance the services it delivers to clients.

The parent company claims that it has been increasing revenue and profitability for the each of the last five years.

"The re-brand signals that both companies are re-focusing," Mr. Vidra said. "Proteus, now 2ergo Americas, has taken a very clear approach to being a mobile marketing products company, as opposed to solutions, services and software - products for everyone from consumers and local businesses to global companies."

2ergo Americas runs various mobile marketing campaigns for its clientele in the U.S. and Latin America, from SMS messaging campaigns to mobile Internet sites and entertainment content storefronts. Its British parent provides convergent mobile applications, global messaging payment services, content management and mobile Internet products.

One of 2ergo Americas' products is Swift, a publishing tool allowing people or companies to create and manage their own mobile Internet site.

There are two versions of Swift. The first is an enterprise tool for large companies with extensive reporting and complete control over ad inventory. The other is a free, ad-supported personal edition at http://www.swiftmob.com for consumers and small businesses that currently has more than 1,000 mobile sites.

Using the enterprise version of Swift, 2ergo Americas helped Fox News develop the Fox News WAP site featuring an election coverage section, which the company now manages on its own.

Swift allows companies to begin monetizing their mobile site by serving ads which clients can sell on their own or through third-party providers such as the Nokia Ad Network, Millenial Media, AdMob and Third Screen Media with whom 2ergo has partnered.

2ergo's other major product is Via, a mobile SMS campaign tool that lets clients send out coupons, information about in-store specials and sales, polls, trivia contests, sweepstakes, bracket games and various types of alerts via text message.

"We help you hone your messaging to reach the right people," Mr. Vidra said.

Handset retailer Simply Wireless, which has 100-plus locations nationwide, has used 2ergo's Via platform to send text messages to T-Mobile, Sprint and Alltel subscribers who opt in when they buy a phone.

Through Via, Simply Wireless alerts them to various in-store specials and discounts on mobile accessories, products and services. Consumers receive a text when their contract is about to expire with various handset deals.

Simply Wireless also asks for customer feedback via SMS.

The Discovery Channel has also used Via to run a variety of messaging campaigns, including programming alerts and reminders for various shows and teasers for upcoming shows.

For example, a television commercial will issue a call-to-action such as "Text SHARK to short code DISCOVER to receive information about Shark Week and enter to win" an online trivia game or sweepstakes.

2ergo Americas claims that it launched the first working demo of a WAP site in the 1990s as Proteus and aired the first interactive event between TV and mobile in 2002.

"The re-brand provides us with tremendous opportunities that will allow us to capitalize on our true global ambitions, having technical access to resources we didn't have before, some only available in Europe," Mr. Vidra said. "A significant part of this is our ability to differentiate ourselves in an industry that's rife with small players.

"It's important for players like Yahoo and News Corp. to know that they're working with a stable global brand that works with the biggest companies in the world and has the resources to get the job done," he said.