Nokia Growth Partners will continue to invest in mobile ecosystem in the U.S

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Nokia Growth Partners will continue to invest in mobile ecosystem in the U.S

Nokia Growth Partners expands presence in China with two senior hires

Sunnyvale, CA and Espoo, Finland - Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), a global venture firm, today announced the launch of its third fund with a further US$250 million long term commitment from Nokia.

Nokia Growth Partners will continue to invest in high potential businesses within the mobile ecosystem in the U.S., Europe and Asia. NGP also announced its expanded presence in China with the appointments of David Tang as managing director and Lu Guo as principal.

"Over the past decade, Nokia has developed an innovative venturing strategy," said Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia executive vice president & chief financial officer. "Our ongoing commitment to Nokia Growth Partners reinforces Nokia's support for a vibrant mobile ecosystem and our determination to collaborate with industry innovators to build great mobile products."

"Nokia Growth Partners is delighted with Nokia's continuing commitment, which recognizes strong financial performance since our formation in 2005," said John Gardner, managing partner of Nokia Growth Partners. "What sets NGP apart from pure financial investors are the partnerships and insights our invested companies get from their close association with Nokia. In the past year, NGP has also realized several successful exits, including the IPOs of Morpho and Inside Secure and sales of Swype, Summit Microelectronics and Netmagic. We are excited about our existing strong portfolio of companies and their potential impact globally."

"We are pleased to welcome David Tang and Lu Guo to the NGP team and look forward to their contributions to our ongoing investment activities in China, an important market for Nokia," said Paul Asel, managing partner of Nokia Growth Partners. "David Tang is well known in the Chinese venture community as an advisor to leading mobile businesses such as UCWeb and Ganji. NGP has enjoyed a long relationship with Mr. Tang during his earlier tenure as vice chairman of Nokia China."

David Tang and Lu Guo together have over 35 years global technology and investment experience. David Tang joins Nokia Growth Partners from AMD where he was Corporate Senior Vice President and President of AMD China. Lu Guo joins from Keytone Ventures where he was Vice President responsible for mobile and Internet investments. They will be based in Beijing.

Apple iAd mobile advertising coming in Europe in Dec

Tweet Pin It Apple iAd mobile advertising coming in Europe in Dec


CUPERTINO, California—Apple® announced it will expand its revolutionary iAdsm mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, with Germany to follow in January. iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio. Since its US launch in July, iAd has emerged as a powerful new way for advertisers to reach millions of iPhone® and iPod touch® users right in their favorite apps, while providing a significant new revenue stream for developers. iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 leading US national advertisers in just four months,* with a projected 21 percent share of US mobile display advertising revenue for 2010 according to research firm IDC.**

“We’re thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers,” said Andy Miller, Apple’s vice president of iAd. “In just four months, we’ve doubled the number of advertisers on the network and thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue.”

“As the world leader in the beauty business, L’Oréal aims to create the most meaningful connections between its brands and its customers, so iAd was a natural choice,” said Marc Menesguen, L’Oréal’s Head of strategic marketing. “We’re thrilled by the quality, the interactivity and the depth of iAd’s user experience, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to reach and serve the most engaged and discerning customers at the digital forefront of beauty, hence our choice of Lancôme to lead our iAd campaign.”

iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes® content. With user engagement times averaging more than 60 seconds per visit, iAds combine the narrative quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new.

Advertisers can learn more at advertising.apple.com. Developers who join the iAd Network can easily incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Developers will receive an industry standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect. Developers can visit developer.apple.com/iad to join the iAd Network or to learn more about the iAd platform.

* Advertising Age “100 Leading National Advertisers” rankings for 2009 by spend, June 20, 2010.

** US mobile display advertising 2010 forecast, published by BusinessWeek.com, September 26, 2010.

Source:APPLE

Google has officially relaxed rules in Europe

Tweet Pin It Google has officially relaxed rules in Europe

Google, the search giant, has officially relaxed rules governing the purchase of trademarks using its AdWords system in Europe, a move that could make it harder for brands to protect their integrity.

Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice ruled AdWords, through which marketers pay to buy keywords, including brand names, for use in sponsored links, did not infringe trademark regulations.

Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods group, brought one of three cases regarding this issue, because it might allow rivals, or counterfeiters, to divert consumers away from manufacturers' actual websites.

Retailers may also exploit the cachet of leading assets, like Nike or Adidas, to attract shoppers without recompensing the company concerned.

After initially outlawing such activity, Google revised restrictions for North America in 2004 and the UK and Ireland in 2008.

Hereon, it will "no longer prevent advertisers from selecting a third party's trademark as a keyword" in several European markets, where they are not "confusing as to the origin of the advertised goods and services."

Links employing brand names in a "descriptive or generic way", representing "competing products or services", supporting specialist independent sites and flagging up portals reselling items would all be valid.

"Google's goal is to provide our users with the most relevant information, whether from search results or advertisements, and we believe that users benefit from having more choice," Google said.

"Our policy aims to balance the interests of users, advertisers, and trademark owners."

The World Federation of Advertisers, the industry body, suggested the fact no formal consultation about this matter had taken place was regrettable.

"Google has become a valuable partner for brand owners worldwide, many of whom are major users of AdWords," said Stephan Loerke, the WFA's managing director.

"This new trademark policy applying across the European region is unhelpful. It could significantly raise the cost for brand owners to effectively protect and promote their brands online."

These sentiments were echoed by AIM, the European Brands Association, which boasts members such as Danone, Cadbury, Kraft, Mars and Reckitt Benckiser.

"Google has chosen not to speak with brand owners to find a solution that would protect all interests", the organisation argued.

Interflora, the flower delivery network, sued Marks & Spencer and Flowers Direct for bidding on "Interflora", and related terms, via AdWords in late 2008.

The price of Interflora's name climbed more than ten-fold when Google modified its UK rules, meaning expenses leapt by $750,000.

"The Interflora brand is extremely valuable and we will not tolerate competitors taking advantage of it and infringing our rights," Michael Barringer, Interflora's marketing director, said at the time.

"Throughout its history, Interflora has been forced to use legal means to prevent infringement of its valuable trademarks."

"This action represents only the beginning of a broader strategy to defend the Interflora mark against infringers."

source:Warc