Advertising is indeed changing. Apptera, traditionally a speech applications company, has shifted strategies to become a new breed in the speech recognition world. Read below for more details.

Apptera Launches MobileAd Technology to Align with Growing Mobile Advertising Market

http://www.apptera.com/NEWS/articles.php?ID=0

Advertisers experience higher conversion rates through targeted In-Call ads versus ads sent to mobile devices

San Bruno CA – January 31, 2007 – Apptera announced today the availability of its MobileAd Technology, enabling voice ad-insertions within in-bound or out-bound calls. By bringing the proven approach of keyword advertising to the phone, Apptera provides an unprecedented way for advertisers to promote their product to a prospect at the exact time the caller is searching for it. Directory Assistance (DA) service providers, carriers, portal companies and enterprises are able to generate additional revenues and complete a sale directly over the phone. Currently, the largest U.S. carrier is using MobileAd Technology for its 1-800-YellowPages deployment.

Advertisers continue to look for more effective and targeted ways to reach consumers. Mobile advertising has emerged as the next major channel. Specifically, in the DA market, opt-in mobile marketing allows advertisers to insert ads that are specific to callers’ needs. According to The Kelsey Group, the U.S. DA industry generated 6.3 billion information requests in 2006 across three platforms – wireline, wireless and Voice over IP (VoIP) – plus another 135 million over free-DA. With several new free 411 services being offered in 2007, the DA market is poised for accelerated growth. In fact, according to The Kelsey Group’s October 2006 report1 on Free-DA, major search portals, like Google are expected to launch wireless voice search products by mid-2007.

“Our research indicates that free directory assistance services are experiencing viral growth in call volume and in corresponding advertiser conversion rates,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media for The Kelsey Group. “What’s more, we are seeing that consumers can be induced to connect with advertisers. This represents a tremendous opportunity for advertisers who adopt pay-for-performance voice search options like audio, text and pay per call.”

Apptera’s MobileAd Technology includes:

MobileAd Manager used by advertisers or their representatives to provision, manage, and record ads
MobileAd Server used by service providers or enterprises to dynamically select and play the most appropriate ad to a caller based on business rules, profiling, personalization and advanced heuristics
MobileAd Reporter which generates business intelligence reports for advertisers and DA service providers to quantify the ROI of their campaigns
MobileAd Xchange which provides a marketplace for advertisers to deploy In-Call ads to multiple service providers through one-time registration. Service providers can leverage the ad “reservoir” to monetize their calls. To learn more about the Xchange, visit www.apptera.com/xchange
“Unsolicited mobile text ads that are not relevant to a caller’s needs are considered spam,” said Marketta Silvera, CEO, Apptera. “Just like Internet search has capitalized on targeted keyword advertising, Apptera is offering relevant ads to free directory assistance callers. Through our MobileAd Technology, we are enabling advertisers to connect with their target audience at the time when it has a direct impact on their purchasing decisions.”

The breakthrough that Apptera’s MobileAd Technology provides is the ability to insert ads within a call that match the interests and preferences of a caller. For instance, with a directory assistance call, a consumer searching for “Tom’s Plumbing” might hear an ad from “Mike’s Plumbing”. A caller to a supermarket, after pressing “1” for the bakery, might hear an ad offering a coupon for fifty-cents off a gallon of milk. The ability for In-Call advertisers to accurately match the service or product that the caller is looking for, provides greater value and much higher conversion rates than traditional advertising channels. The average “switch” or conversion rate is 4 percent to 8 percent, according to The Kelsey Group.

About Apptera

Apptera provides technology for mobile advertising, search & commerce. This technology helps companies increase revenues through ad-serving capabilities and campaign management solutions. The services are provided In-Call – at the exact moment a consumer is interacting with a business over the phone. Dozens of companies, some of which are electronic hubs, have adopted Apptera's technology and through these customers, more than 1,800 businesses in the communications, retail, financial and transportation industries form the user base for Apptera's award-winning solutions. Founded in 2001, Apptera is a privately held Silicon Valley-based technology company funded by leading venture capital firms. For additional information, visit www.apptera.com.

Apptera, the Apptera logo, Apptera MobileAd Manager and Apptera MobileAd Xchange are registered trademarks, service marks or trademarks of Apptera in the United States and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Jessie Wong
Senior Account Executive

Blanc & Otus Public Relations
jmorgan@blancandotus.com

Direct:
415.856.5147

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415.856.5100