HT Mobile Solutions looks to ‘Build, Partner and Buy’ for growth

HT Mobile Solutions, the mobile marketing and advertising solutions organisation of HT Media, has acquired Webitude, a social media organization based in the NCR.

With the acquisition, the company announced its intent to leverage combined power of mobile and social media, under an umbrella brand Digital Quotient. The brand will operate with the philosophy ‘Go Mobile, Get Social’.

Campaign India caught up with Vinish Kathuria, COO, HT Mobile Solutions, to gain more perspective on this acquisition and its impact on advertisers.

HT Mobile Solutions has been in existence for three years. How have the revenues grown for this vertical?

We have been growing (revenue wise) 50 to 60 per cent year on year. Going forward, we wish to grow 100 per cent year-on-year. The reason for acquisition of Webitude is in line with this aim.

What will be implications of this acquisition for advertisers?

The Indian digital marketing landscape can be summarized by three megatrends - explosive growth in mobile usage, social media and video consumption. As Digital Quotient, we are going to offer our clients a rich array of solutions across mobile and social media, and leverage the power of multimedia to help establish a strong, meaningful connect with consumers.

Being part of HT Group, we are well-positioned to offer advertisers not only the large reach of media like print and FM, but also the engagement possibilities of mobile and social media, which will give clients and advertisers a greater opportunity to reach out to millions of consumers. As a one-stop shop, we bring the know-how of user behaviour, technological capacity and function as a digital agency to advertisers.

With the acquisition, would the structure and practices of HT Mobile and Webitude change?

We will continue to operate Webitude as a digital agency. HT Mobile has seen good results in the mobile solutions space over the last few years and will retain its mobile-first approach.  The company plans to combine its technical and business knowledge of the mobile, social and multimedia ecosystem and offer marketing solutions.

What are the challenges that HT Mobile Solutions faces in this space, from the competition and the market?

As a start-up we are very excited to be a part of this space. That said, yes there are challenges in this market. One, the space is changing very fast. One has to be on top of their game all the time and staying on top becomes important. Secondly, even with all technological and digital changes, the education of a brand manager or brand CEO about digital evolution does not stop. The technology has been evolving rapidly in the past two to three years and brands and clients have to be made aware of the evolution and also how it impacts their brands.

What will be HT Mobile Solutions’ strategy to grow?

We work with a ‘Build, Partner and Buy’ strategy that underlines our core aim. We would build platforms and businesses, partner with global and Indian solution providers and acquire businesses to grow HT Mobile Solutions and also to increase the client base.