Komli Media acquires mobile ad network ZestADZ

ZestADZ is the fourth firm acquired by Komli Media. It bought three digital companies earlier -- Aktiv Digital, PostClick and Indoor Media.

Digital media firm Komli Media is all set to expand its presence in the mobile marketing space. It has acquired 100 per cent stake in a mobile ad network named ZestADZ. According to the arrangement, Asif Ali, co-founder, ZestADZ will join the mobile division of Komli Media as product head.

AmitBhartiya, business head of audience monitoring firm ViziSense, will head ZestADZ, which will be the mobile marketing arm of Komli Media.

For the uninitiated, ZestADZ (zestadz.com) is a global mobile ad network, which is based in the US, and in India. It offers mobile advertising solutions to advertisers and publishers for performance and branding-based campaigns.

The company claims that it delivers more than five billion ad impressions across markets such as India, Indonesia, USA, Europe and Africa. About 25 per cent of its total traffic comes from India. In the past, ZestADZ has worked for publishers such as Indiatimes, ibibo, iXiGO and Indiagames, and has executed campaigns for various brands including Tata AIG, Aircel, Google, MSN and Yahoo!. Apart from advertising solutions, it provides analytics support to both advertisers and publishers.

Speaking on the reason behind the acquisition, Prashant Mehta, chief executive officer, Komli Media, says that advertisers usually ask for mobile solutions, as well. With the acquisition, the company will be able to tap the mobile marketing space, which is going to be significant in the next few years.

ZestADZ is the fourth firm acquired by Komli Media. It had acquired Aktiv Digital in June. In 2010, it bought a site representation company called PostClick, and an online advertising firm named Indoor Media.

Aktiv Digital is a four-year old ad network which has tie-ups with more than 1,000 publishers and has a physical presence in the Singapore, Hong Kong and Philippines markets. PostClick is an online media sales company which ties up with online publishers, mostly on an exclusive representation basis, to represent and sell their online ad inventories to advertisers. Its business model is based on the commission earned through publishers from the sale of ad inventory.

Indoor Media owns an ethnic online ad network named AdMasala, which enables advertisers to target and serve ads to South Asian internet consumers residing in the UK. AdMasala has partnerships with more than 400 publishers across various parts of the world, including Indian publishers.