CAIRO: International brand names can now deliver direct their ads straight to Vodafone customers, who will be the first to know about special offers, promotions and discounts, the mobile company said in a statement. The new service, still in its trial phase, is in line with Vodafone's strategy to provide a basked of complementary services to its customers. Smart ads were launched by Vodafone Egypt after seeing much success in several parts of Europe within the past few months, the company said. Karim Khalifa, head of mobile ads department, said, "The new ads service is, at all levels, a hit for Vodafone. I expect it to attain the same recognition as the European model. Khalifa highlighted the Please call me SMS service as one of the premium channels through which advertising companies can reach Vodafone customers as it has proven to be one of the most commonly used among Vodafoners. Vodafone also plans to use Vodafone live and SMS messages in addition to the Mini Call and MMS services for Smart Ads. Khalifa explained that every Please call me message will include a direct link to Vodafone live services, which enables access to the displayed video ads. Vodafone customers will enjoy the special discounts and offers given by advertisers when they access the ads web link ... even customers who do not yet carry 3G broadband mobiles shall be able to take advantage of this service in an audio format through the 'IVR' service, he added Advertisers will reach targeted customers instantly, directly and precisely, said the company, in addition to a monitoring option which can count ads viewership and measure the campaigns efficiency. "Prioritizing customer privacy, any customer will have the option to receive or not receive such ads messages, Khalifa added, "Vodafone Egypt is working on the necessary procedures to regulate SPAM. Khalifa expects the new advertising tool will boost competition as well as enhance creativity and innovativeness of advertising techniques in Egypt. A trial version of Smart Ads was launched in cooperation with companies such as Procter & Gamble, BMW, Pepsi, Citibank and Delta Group.
