Mobile Groove

Regular readers will recall that MSG has partnered with bnetTV to cover industry events such as CTIA and, more recently, Mobile World Congress (MWC). The team did an awesome job, producing 200+ interviews. I focused on analysis, and conducted some 20 interviews with senior executives at companies including abphone, BuzzCity, Movius, Gracenote, Mob4Hire, GyPSii, AdMob, BuddyMob, Gigafone, BubbleMotion, Visto, JumpTap, and SurfKitchen (in no particular order). From JumpTap’s mobile advertising strategy, to Gracenote’s new music search and share features, to SurfKitchen’s widget launch, the video interviews are a valuable knowledge resource.

Today marks the debut of these new segments on the MSG video jukebox (located in the right-hand sidebar). This week’s focus, and feature video in the player, is my interview with Shane Lennon, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Product Development at GyPSii, a must-watch company leading in the race to deliver connected and cool experiences combining information, entertainment, social networks, and location/navigation. In our interview we connect the dots in the recent string of announcements and discuss the significance for brands and advertisers.

Indeed, it’s the raft of announcements over the last weeks — including a partnership to embed GyPSii’s app on a range of LG mobile phones; the tie-up with Nokia and RIM (blackberry) to make the app available on a wide variety of their devices; and a wise decision launch an open API (allowing partners to call the shots on how they integrate GyPSii into their mobile strategy and devices) – that speaks volumes about the company’s new and stronger focus. My take: GyPSii has both the ideas and the impetus to impact our mobile lifestyles.

In addition to the interview and my analysis (below), I also encourage you to read more about GyPSii in my regular column for the bnetTV newsletter, which counts some 10,000 readers. For all my coverage and columns in one place, check out this page on the bnetTV site dedicated to MSG news and views. Thanks again to bnetTV’s Michelle and Tony Sklar for promoting MSG to their growing audience of industry executives and professionals, and to Nicole Scott for bringing it all together in some great brainstorming sessions!

Thanks to Andrea Henninge and Stuart Willett, who heads up MSG Media Solutions, this next Mobile World Congress is shaping up to be the best so far! My schedule is packed with briefings, speaking engagements (such as the Qualcomm’s Plaza Mobile Internet Forum), and a string of video interviews I’m conducting together with MSG’s own in-house film crew. Slots are going fast – so if you would like to learn more please contact Stuart Willett directly – sw@morianamediagroup.com or mobile: +44 7734 315 506.

MSG is also proud to partner with bnetTV to conduct studio interviews with an exciting line-up of companies including AdMob, BuddyMob, BuzzCity,Gigafone, Gracenote, GyPSii, JumpTap, MCN, Mob4Hire, Movius, and VISTO. The finished segments will showcase on MSG (in the customized video player in the right-hand corner), so please check back regularly. You can also look for event coverage – as well as my regular columns – on this special Events page bnetTV created exclusively for MSG.

Which brings me to this week’s column and focus on Motricity, a provider of mobile data solutions and services, ranging from mobile portals and storefronts, to messaging aggregation, to a slew of mobile operators and content providers, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Alltel, TracFone Wireless, PlayPhone, CNN, FOX News, A&E, and Condé Nast. The company had a banner year in 2008. But the real news is mobile marketing, a sector Ryan Wuerch, Motricity Chairman and CEO, tells me is poised for impressive growth.

I kick off this year with more opportunities than ever to deliver good ideas to a great audience. I’m pleased that MSG has a central place in the exchange, and I invite you to reach out to me directly or arrange a briefing with my PA Andrea Henninge – andrea@msearchgroove.com . MSG has also partnered with bnetTV to conduct in-depth interviews with CEOs from a who’s who of companies in the mobile space. If you’re planning to be at Mobile World Congress and would like to do a video interview with me, then contact me or Andrea soonest. Slots are going fast – but I am always open to good ideas and getting to know cool companies.

MCN – a company that began by providing a platform for federated mobile search and has since extended its reach to providing a combination PPC content promotion and vertical paid search program – has chalked up another mobile operator win. This time it’s Avea, a newcomer mobile operator in Turkey that counts 11 million subscribers, that has signed up for MCN’s mobile search platform (for its WAP portal – wap.avea.com) for multi-category search. The deal will als…