For Immediate Release |
July 1st, 2008 |
Velti plc
MAJOR RUSSIAN CONTRACT SIGNED WITH MTS
Velti plc ('Velti'; LSE-AIM: VEL), a leading provider of software platforms, applications and services for advertising agencies, mobile operators and media, has commenced a major mobile marketing project for Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ('MTS'; NYSE: MBT) - its first contract in Russia.
MTS, the largest mobile phone operator in Russia with a total of 86 million subscribers in Russia and CIS countries, has contracted Velti to create, deliver and manage large mobile marketing campaigns being run across Russia, using Velti's market-leading, award-winning Mobile Marketing and Advertising Platform. The initial campaign of the contract runs through the end of August 2008.
The objective of the campaign is to increase MTS' brand awareness by creating excitement and interaction between the brand and its customers. This is an innovative, integrated campaign with text messaging, mobile internet, web-interactive and TV components. The campaign is supported by MTS-branded advertising on the national TV networks in Russia.
Velti's revenues are based on a setup fee component and a performance-based component tied to the overall results of the campaign. We cannot yet put a value on this contract until the end of the project, but we expect it to make a significant contribution to this year's revenues. The gross margin in these types of engagements is smaller than Velti's traditional margin however revenues ramp up considerably faster and costs are very predictable.
Alexandros Moukas, Chief Executive of Velti, commented: 'The MTS mobile marketing campaign is a major strategic contract for Velti and is our first in Russia. The Russian market holds enormous potential for us, being the 3rd largest mobile market globally behind China and India.'
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CONTACTS
Velti: |
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Alexandros Moukas, Chief Executive Officer |
+44 (0) 20 7633 5000 |
Pantelis Papageorgiou, Director of Finance |
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Bankside: |
+44 (0) 20 7367 8888 |
Simon Bloomfield or Steve Liebmann |
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RBC Capital Markets: |
+44 (0) 207 653 4667 |
Sarah Wharry |
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About MTS
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ('MTS') is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company services over 86.3 million subscribers. The regions of Russia, as well as Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, in which MTS and its associates and subsidiaries are licensed to provide GSM services, have a total population of more than 230 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about MTS can be found on MTS' website at www1.mtsgsm.com.
About Velti
Velti's market-leading mobile marketing technology platform, coupled with its experience in the mobile advertising industry, enables clients around the world to deliver an extensive range of highly targeted marketing campaigns. With operations in 18 countries, and a mobile marketing joint venture with the Interpublic group, a top global holding group of advertising agencies, Velti has the ability to reach through its platform an estimated 1.4 billion consumers.
Velti's unique Mobile Marketing and Advertising Platform (version 4.0) manages the full cycle of planning, execution and monitoring of multiple campaigns across differing mobile formats and channels, offering customers more than 70 mobile marketing and advertising templates, which can be managed from one user interface.
For more information, visit www.velti.com.