REDMOND, Wash.—Microsoft Corp.’s MSN is hoping to move onto the mobile marketing playground with the acquisition of Third Screen Media.
MSN is negotiating to buy out the Boston-based company, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Representatives from Microsoft and Third Screen were not immediately available for comment regarding the story.
Third Screen has gained substantial traction in the early days of mobile marketing, boasting clients such as The Weather Channel, USA Today and—perhaps unsurprisingly—MSN. The company specializes in presenting ads to wireless Web users, and offers software designed to streamline ad management and delivery on mobile networks for companies looking to create and monitor mobile marketing campaigns.
Microsoft appears to be looking to secure a place on the playground against rival Google Inc., which has moved aggressively into wireless. Google has worked to extend its offerings from the PC to the mobile phone, notching deals with carriers and handset manufacturers in an effort to become the home page of choice for wireless Web surfers.
Earlier this month, Microsoft bought Massive Inc., which places advertisements and other marketing messages inside video games.
The development also helps validate the mobile marketing space, which has exploded in recent months. Mainstream brands and media companies are increasingly looking to mobile phones to extend their reach, and well-heeled companies are jumping in quickly as the industry consolidates.
“In October, we were seeing (mobile marketing budgets) in the $20,000 to $40,000 range,” Third Screen executive Heidi Lehmann told RCR Wireless News in January. “Now, the average is $100,000 to $300,000. … Budgets are just getting bigger. It just shows the agencies are starting to take mobile more seriously.”
