Mobile operators to extend Weve outside Europe
MWC: The world’s biggest operators are set to unveil a new mobile marketing and payments joint venture outside of Europe following the launch of Weve in the UK.
Speaking to Marketing Week at Mobile World Congress Stephanie Hospital, executive vice president of Orange Digital, said the mobile industry has taken inspiration from Weve in the UK to develop new revenue growth areas.
Not only will subsequent Weve-like joint ventures benefit the mobile industry, Hospital says such initiatives “simplify the life of advertisers and media agencies”.
Forming joint ventures allows marketers to reach a mass audience with their mobile campaigns, according to Hospital.
She says: “In our industry today it makes sense to have scale and co-operation with carriers and internet players rather than having a standalone strategy, which is less effective.”
Elsewhere, Orange is also lobbying alongside industry bodies such as the IAB and MMA to develop mobile advertising standards to improve their effectiveness for brands and for mobile ads to embody more creativity.
She says: “We have to work the same way as an industry when developing digital advertising services: an immersive and responsive design approach. We must make sure there’s a single approach to advertising formats, such as banners that are adapted to each device.”
Weve, the joint venture between Vodafone, O2 and EE in the UK, launched last year after months of negotiations with EU regulators over competition concerns. The lengthy approval process is understood to be the reason why the operators have chosen to launch their next venture outside Europe.
She says: “If you want to work with other carriers you need to be very open minded but often the discussions are led by commercial interests rather that business interests. In the UK and Europe there can also be [regulatory] challenges.”
