Sprout Mobile Rich Media

Mobile Ad Network Recognized for Innovative Rich Media Creative; Among First
Awarded for Digital Creative Built Without Manual Coding

San Mateo, March 26th, 2012: InMobi, the largest independent mobile ad network, today announces that the InMobi Creative Services team won Best Game Site Mobile Application ad in the Web Marketing Association’s 2012 Internet Advertising Competition Awards. The winning creative was for the SEGA Samurai Bloodshow mobile ad.

The rich media creative award is among the first to be won by a mobile ad network, and one of the first awards for interactive mobile creative built without any manual coding. The win represents a milestone for InMobi’s creative services team and InMobi subsidiary Sprout, whose cloud-based tool produces high performance HTML5 rich media creative through a drag-and-drop interface that requires no knowledge of code.

Judging criteria for the creative award included creativity, innovation, impact, design, copywriting, use of the medium, and memorability. The SEGA Samurai Bloodshow campaign leveraged the latest in HTML5 innovation and gamification to meet performance based advertising goals. InMobi Creative Services worked with SEGA to create an experience that enables the user to play the game directly from the ad without having to go through a multi-step process to download the trial from the App Store.

Anne Frisbie, Vice President and Managing Director, North America, InMobi says, “We are very excited to be recognized for leading the mobile advertising industry on two levels—first, for rich media creative produced by a mobile ad network, and second, for digital creative built without manual coding. It is a great accomplishment for InMobi, and we look forward to delivering many more innovative campaigns and first-to-market experiences for mobile advertisers and consumers.”

About InMobi
InMobi is the largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on five continents InMobi provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. The network is growing and now delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 578 Million consumers, in over 165 countries, through more than 93.4 Billion mobile ad impressions monthly. The recent acquisition of Sprout, a leading HTML5 authoring platform for mobile rich media, helps expand the InMobi offering to creative agencies and brands.

InMobi is venture-backed by investors including: SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices in Bangalore, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

To learn more, please visit www.inmobi.com/research, follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or read our blog at www.inmobi.com/inmobiblog/.

Contact:

West Coast: Dan Gamble, Hotwire US | dan.gamble@hotwirepr.com | +1 415 371 7938
East Coast: Jill Ivey, Hotwire US | jillian.ivey@hotwirepr.com | +1 215 806 2951

Hearst to leverage Sprout platform to develop high-impact campaigns for the mobile web.

SAN FRANCISCO—March 6, 2012—Sprout, the leading global platform for mobile brand advertising, today announced its partnership with Hearst Digital Media, a unit of Hearst Magazines. The partnership establishes Sprout as the mobile and tablet rich-media ad creation platform for Hearst’s digital portfolio, including brands like Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.

Sprout offers a self-service platform that allows clients to create, manage, and optimize display advertising on smart-devices including phones, tablets, game platforms, and TVs.  Hearst will use the Sprout platform to develop high-engagement HTML5 ad units for their brand advertisers to run on its mobile optimized websites.

Laura Schooling, Hearst Digital Media’s executive director of marketing services, said, “Sprout’s technology will better enable us to create deeply engaging advertising experiences for our clients across the mobile and tablet web. With a comprehensive suite of HTML5 applications, we can develop solutions that tap into the inherent functionality of each device—tailoring solutions to consumer interests and behaviors.”

Carnet Williams, VP of Sprout, said, “We are excited Sprout will be Hearst’s mobile ad creation technology partner, and look forward to enabling Hearst’s creative team to create engaging ads for consumers that reflect the quality of the world class editorial that defines Hearst brands.  Hearst and Sprout share a mutual commitment to innovation and creativity, and we look forward to growing our partnership.”

About Sprout

Sprout, an InMobi company, is the leading global platform for mobile brand advertising. The cloud-based tool enables designers, creative agencies and brands to build mobile rich media ad units to run across Android, iOS and the mobile web. The drag and drop interface requires no knowledge of code and the output is high performance HTML5 creative. Designers using the tool can incorporate interactivity and increase engagement with animation, sound and video. Sprout is compatible with most major mobile ad networks and hundreds of premium mobile publishers.

Sprout is a wholly owned subsidiary of InMobi. Venture-backed by investors including SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures, InMobi has offices in Bangalore, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

To learn more, please visit www.sproutinc.com. 

About Hearst Digital Media

Launched in March 2006, Hearst Digital Media, a unit of Hearst Magazines, is dedicated to creating and implementing the digital strategy for Hearst’s magazine brands and other sites, which serve the company’s consumer audience. The unit oversees more than 28 websites and 14 mobile sites for brands such as Cosmopolitan, ELLE, ELLE DECOR, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, Popular Mechanics, Road & Track and Seventeen, as well as digital-only sites such as Delish.com, a food site in partnership with MSN; and RealBeauty.com. Hearst Magazines has published more than 150 applications and digital editions for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as the Android platform. In addition, the company includes iCrossing, a global digital marketing agency.

Media Contacts

For Sprout: Jill Ivey, Hotwire PR | 215.806.2951| jillian.ivey@hotwirepr.com

For Hearst: Michael Volpatt, Larkin/Volpatt Communications | 415.994.8864 | michael@larkinvolpatt.com

Cloud based creative tools and new partnership program launch to increase consumer engagement for brands, agencies and publishers

SAN FRANCISCO, February 23^rd, 2012: Sprout, the leading global platform for mobile brand advertising, announces plans for an international network of Sprout certified design resources, allowing the market to benefit from global talent and deliver the very latest in product innovation.  Its new Mobile Design Certification Program will offer free training to large and independent designers and further develop its existing Design Partner Program, boasting partners including; PHD, Joule and Somo.

The cloud based, enterprise-level, mobile creative toolset enables advertisers to build a high-engagement rich media experience once and run it across Android, iOS and the mobile web.  Sprout platform clients control their own creative development process from start to finish.

Carnet Williams, VP of Sprout says “Sprout empowers brands and marketers to do what they do best, focus on creating engaging and high-touch brand experiences for their target consumers, by removing the confusion and frustration around the mobile form factor.  We’re committed to our ‘build once, run everywhere’ vision. This approach provides our clients with a fast, scalable Rich Media creative solution without compromising on quality.”

Sprout offers full rich media engagement reporting and is compliant with MRAID, the IAB’s proposed standard for mobile Rich Media Ads. Ad unit capabilities include embedded video, social media integration, mobile advergames, and location based mapping.

Since its acquisition from InMobi, the largest independent mobile advertising network, in 2011, Sprout has further developed its global customer base.

Connect with key spokespeople from Sprout and InMobi at Mobile World Congress. Stand 2.1C64, Hall 2,1.  To coordinate briefings, contact Jill Ivey, Hotwire PR, jillian.ivey@hotwirepr.com or 215.806.2951.

About Sprout

Sprout, an InMobi company, is the leading global platform for mobile brand advertising. The cloud-based tool enables designers, creative agencies and brands to build mobile rich media ad units to run across Android, iOS and the mobile web. The drag and drop interface requires no knowledge of code and the output is high performance HTML5 creative. Designers using the tool can incorporate interactivity and increase engagement with animation, sound and video. Sprout is compatible with most major mobile ad networks and hundreds of premium mobile publishers.

Sprout is a wholly owned subsidiary of InMobi. Venture-backed by investors including SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures, InMobi has offices in Bangalore, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

To learn more, please visit www.sproutinc.com.

About InMobi

InMobi is the largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on five continents InMobi provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. The network is growing and now delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 485 Million consumers, in over 165 countries, through more than 93.4 Billion mobile ad impressions monthly. The recent acquisition of Sprout, a leading HTML5 authoring platform for mobile rich media, helps expand the InMobi offering to creative agencies and brands.

InMobi is venture-backed by investors including: SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices in Bangalore, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

To learn more, please visit www.inmobi.com/research, follow them on Twitter @InMobi, or read their blog at www.inmobi.com/inmobiblog/.

by inmobimedia

Sprout technology solves the complexity of mobile rich media planning, creation, distribution, and measurement for brands and agencies globally

AUGUST 2, 2011, 08:00 a.m. PDT: Today, InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, announced the acquisition of Sprout, whose HTML5 rich media creative platform helps agencies and brands reduce the complexity of rich media mobile ad creation and distribution. InMobi’s global presence combined with Sprout’s rich media technology will help the mobile advertising industry easily build and distribute engaging rich media ads to consumers everywhere.

Known for simplifying the complex process of HTML5 rich media mobile ad creation and distribution, Sprout’s vision is to help advertisers “build once and deliver everywhere” on both mobile and desktop devices. Sprout’s cloud-based platform brings efficiency and scale to organizations creating mobile ads and its rich media creatives are compatible with mobile devices supporting HTML5, including Apple iOS and Google Android devices. Sprout works with some of the world’s leading brands, including Chevrolet, Disney, Paramount Pictures, HTC, Sega and Nokia.

Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi, comments: “Sprout’s technology solves a critical need for the industry by helping bring engaging mobile ad experiences to consumers all around the globe. The acquisition fits perfectly with our vision to enable the mobile ecosystem with best of breed technology and services. The entire industry will benefit from the combination of our technology and operational footprint on five continents and Sprout’s platform.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Ajit Nazre, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, says: “The mobile industry is struggling to fully capitalize on the engaging advertising experiences now possible through smart devices. This acquisition will help scale the use of rich media advertising globally – a critical next step in helping the industry realize its full potential.”

Sprout will operate as a fully independent company working with the entire mobile advertising industry to solve the HTML5 creation and delivery problem, and will continue to expand its product in the coming months by adding workflow enhancements, analytics, and innovative new ad units.

Carnet Williams, CEO and co-founder of Sprout, comments: “InMobi’s commitment to an open and independent Sprout made them the clear choice for us. We will continue to work with all existing partners, including competitive ad networks, globally.”

About InMobi

InMobi is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on five continents, it provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. Its network is growing fast and now delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 314 million consumers, in over 165 countries, through more than 36.2 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. InMobi was recently included in both the 2011 AlwaysOn Global 250 and the 2011 AlwaysOn OnMobile 100 Top Private Companies lists.

InMobi is venture-backed with marquee investors including: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices in San Francisco, London, Bangalore, Tokyo, Nairobi, and Singapore.

To learn more, please visit www.InMobi.com, follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or read our blog atwww.InMobi.com/InMobiblog/.

About Sprout

Sprout is the leading platform for creating mobile HTML5 rich media advertising. Its team has been market leaders for social media and mobile technologies for the past five years, and was one of the first preferred Facebook Developers. Sprout has a simple philosophy: Creative professionals should be able to build once and deliver everywhere. Its platform creates HTML5 ads that are compatible with leading mobile ad networks, aggregators, and publishers.

Sprout is venture-backed by Polaris Venture Partners and has offices in Honolulu and San Francisco.

To learn more, please visit www.sproutinc.com and follow us on Twitter @sprout.

Please contact Dan Gamble, for further information or for a briefing with a senior spokesperson.

Tel: +1 415 598 8902

Email: dan@If-communications.com