CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment(R) 2007, taking place this week at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, is embarking on a common short code (CSC) campaign designed to start a mobile video revolution. CTIA attendees will receive an exclusive video and downloadable ringtone from U2’s The Edge via mobile phone text messaging this morning.Music videos, song tracks and ringtones are among the most popular multimedia content sold on mobile devices today. To further demonstrate the lure, legendary musician The Edge, from the band U2, has produced an exclusive video for CTIA’s CSC campaign. He has also recorded an exclusive ringtone that can be downloaded after watching the video and passed along to others, at no charge.
“It’s not that people don’t want to watch video on their device–they simply don’t know their device is capable,” said Robert Mesirow, vice president of business operations and show director for CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment. “By spreading the word at the industry’s leading wireless and technology gathering, we have the opportunity to educate a massive audience about the availability of mobile video. This, combined with our ability to offer content from a rock icon like The Edge, could potentially make this the most watched mobile video in history.”
In an effort to bring mobile video to the forefront of the consumer’s wireless experience, CTIA has enlisted the help of Vantrix to adapt this exclusive video message to optimally suit virtually every video-capable wireless device on the market. Consumers will text “CTIA” to 23333 to find out if their mobile devices can receive video and get the CTIA-exclusive video and ringtone from The Edge.
“There are over 80 million wireless users in the U.S. with video-capable phones, but less than 10 percent of them use their phone to watch any type of video,” said Manish Jha, CEO of Vantrix. “Through this joint initiative with CTIA, we seek to educate consumers about the power of mobile phones as media players and the different ways to find video and music on the mobile Internet. We are delighted to work with CTIA to provide this engaging experience for wireless users.”
Consumers unable to access the video via the short code on their handsets are invited to obtain the ringtone by visiting www.vantrix.com/CTIA and entering their cell phone number.
About CTIA
CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2007 is a one-of-a-kind event that reflects the dual nature of today’s wireless data industry–technology that offers both mobile solutions to the enterprise and mobile entertainment to the consumer. This event brings together diverse audience segments to satisfy every mobile data need and respond to the ever-growing market demand for wireless services. For more news on the 2007 CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment convention visit http://www.ctia.org/wirelessit.
CTIA-The Wireless Association is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers. CTIA is also recognized as the premiere producer of two annual technology events representing the complete wireless, mobile and Internet industries. CTIA WIRELESS 2008 takes place in Las Vegas, April 1-3; CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2008 takes place in San Francisco September 10-12.
About Vantrix
Vantrix delivers the best video experience on a mobile phone, overcoming the technology hurdles of providing video on demand, live TV, video alerts, user-generated content, video share, and any other type of multimedia in mobile and other digital platforms. Leading companies like ABC News, AT&T, Orange, T-Mobile and The Weather Channel trust Vantrix to satisfy their mobile media needs. Whether it’s on-deck or off-deck, premium-based or ad-supported, push or pull, Vantrix puts video to work for its customers. Vantrix is headquartered in Montreal with offices in New York, London, Dubai and Bangalore. See the difference at http://www.vantrix.com.
Contacts:
Media Strategies for CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment Cheryl Delgreco,
617-429-6749 cdelgreco@msipr.com Karen Blondell,
310-922-5838 (cell) kblondell@msipr.com or VSC Consulting for Vantrix Vijay S. Chattha,
(415) 305-6041 vijay@vscconsulting.com
