August 05, 2010 09:00 ET

Draftfcb Strengthens Mobile Offering, Partners With Industry Leader Velti to Increase Capabilities

Agency to Utilize Velti mGage™ to Deliver Innovative, Holistic Mobile Solutions

CHICAGO, IL and SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - August 5, 2010) -  Recognizing the increased importance of the mobile channel to reach consumers, Draftfcb has partnered with Velti, a leader in mobile marketing and advertising technology solutions, to provide the agency and its clients a full range of in-house mobile services and capabilities.

The agency will use Velti mGage in the development and execution of campaigns, including SMS, mobile Web, mobile media planning and buying and proprietary measurement.

"With this partnership, we believe Draftfcb Chicago will be the first fully integrated agency to provide a complete in-house mobile offering," said Patrick Moorhead, VP, director of mobile platforms at Draftfcb Chicago. "Working with Velti mGage, we'll be able to deliver world-class mobile capabilities and campaigns to our clients from within the same teams and strategic approaches we are already employing for them."

The non-exclusive relationship will enable Draftfcb to integrate Velti's technology suite into its existing digital production and strategic services in an efficient, cost- effective manner.

"Digital is quickly becoming a critical core competency for us as we continue to deploy truly integrated marketing solutions for our clients," said Mark Modesto, president of Draftfcb North America. "This new relationship and the capabilities it brings us in the mobile space are an important piece of achieving our digital vision."

"Agencies announce partnerships all the time," said Chris Miller, EVP, group management director, digital at Draftfcb Chicago. "The difference here is two-fold: the intention and the long-range implication. First, we're making an investment in mobile by choosing to standardize on a platform and with a partner we believe will allow us to move from mostly working with a portfolio of partners and vendors, to managing and growing our business in mobile. Second, we're putting a stake in the ground that mobile is a big part of our future, and this partner and platform demonstrate how we plan to capitalize on it."

Founded in 2000, Velti works with more than 450 brands, agencies and mobile operators in more than 35 countries. In 2009, more than 2,000 mobile campaigns were executed using the company's platform.

"Draftfcb Chicago is breaking ground with their commitment to mobile and we are gratified to be their partner of choice," said Alex Moukas, CEO at Velti. "There's no question that marketers are shifting spend from traditional, hard-to-measure media to mobile, and Draftfcb is in the vanguard of agencies supporting this trend. With Velti mGage, they can create campaigns for their clients that are completely integrated and fully measurable."

In keeping with Draftfcb's approach to deliver holistic campaigns that reach consumers at the point(s) that matter to them, all agency employees will be responsible for the development and execution of mobile elements of a campaign.

"Mobile should no longer be treated as a vertical, stand-alone channel. Rather, it can be horizontal throughout the entire ecosystem of a campaign and, as a result, it is the responsibility of the entire agency, not just one designated team, to make sure it is part of the integrated solution," said Moorhead. "Copywriters will write copy for print, direct mail, and now, mobile SMS and mobile Web experiences; art directors will conceptualize the visual elements for a campaign not only for TV and print but for the mobile screen as well; and producers will produce entire campaigns executing the mobile components using this toolkit."

Draftfcb Chicago currently works with clients such as Kmart, Brown-Forman (el Jimador), MilkPEP, Coors Light and Hilton Hotels (Hampton Inn) in the mobile space. The agency's first work using the Velti mGage platform will debut later this month.

About Draftfcb
 Draftfcb is the first holistic, global marketing communications agency to operate against a single P&L, with a network that spans 92 countries and employs more than 9,200 people. The agency is driven by The 6.5 Seconds That Matter(^SM), an operating system that recognizes the brief period of time marketers have to capture consumers' attention and motivate them to act. With nearly 140 years of combined expertise, Draftfcb has roots in both consumer advertising and behavioral, data-driven direct marketing. It firmly believes there is no way to separate creativity from accountability, which it refers to as Return on Ideas(^SM). The agency is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. For more information, visit www.draftfcb.com.

About Velti
Velti (LSE: VEL) is a leading global provider of mobile marketing and advertising technology and solutions that enable brands, advertising agencies, mobile operators and media to implement highly targeted, interactive and measurable campaigns by communicating with and engaging consumers via their mobile devices. Our technology platform, called Velti mGage™, allows customers to use mobile and traditional media to reach targeted consumers, engage the consumer through the mobile internet and applications, convert them into customers and continue to actively manage the relationship through the mobile channel. More than 450 leading brands, advertising agencies, mobile operators and media companies have used our platform to execute more than 2,000 mobile marketing and advertising campaigns globally in 2009, reaching consumers in more than 35 countries. Velti is a publicly-held corporation with 500 employees listed on London Stock Exchange's AIM under the symbol VEL. For more information, visit www.velti.com.