Leading Brands Tap T9 Nav™ to Reach Consumers through Mobile
Tiger Beer and The Times confirmed as advertising partners for Nuance's mobile search and discovery solution
LONDON, July 04, 2008 – Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced that companies will have a new advertising medium to target consumers more easily via mobile thanks to Nuance’s T9 Nav™ software, its innovative search and discovery solution now available as part of a Beta trial in the UK. Tiger Beer and Times Mobile, the mobile site of The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers in the UK, have joined the trial as keyword advertising sponsors. By sponsoring appropriate keywords within T9 Nav, companies will be able to influence content choices, drive traffic to specified Web sites and ultimately increase brand affinity.
T9 Nav expands the Nuance smart keypad portfolio, joining Nuance’s T9® Text Input and XT9® Smart Input software, de facto standards for mobile text input, which have already shipped on 3.5 billion handsets worldwide. Where T9 and XT9 speed the creation of SMS and email messages, T9 Nav uses predictive search technology to replace complex menus and tedious device navigation on mobile phones, allowing users to access features and content, on and off the device, by simply entering keywords such as news, business, trains and cinema.
“We believe that by giving consumers access to localised information about where they can buy our product such as bar names and restaurants, we are likely to see an increased rate of sale. Through sponsored keywords with T9 Nav such as ‘bar’ and ‘restaurant’ linking to our Night Out mobile website, we’re able to provide valuable information in real time to our customers who are out and about directing them to outlets stocking our product,” expressed Gemma Adams, Brand Manager for Tiger Beer UK.
T9 Nav is intuitive search and discovery software that simplifies a user’s search via mobile. With T9 Nav on their handsets, users are literally just a few key presses away from available features and content. Whether looking for a phone feature, news, a taxi or directions to a favourite restaurant, users can more easily discover the services that companies build and promote. Through innovative search functionality, keywords will appear to users whilst they are looking for other items on their handsets, allowing them to discover new content, features and information. This mechanism allows advertisers to direct content towards consumers through a simpler approach than that currently used with Bluetooth marketing, short codes and barcodes.
Advertisers are increasingly looking towards the mobile device experience as a vehicle through which they can reach and target their customers intuitively and effectively, whilst operators and handset vendors are looking for ways to participate in advertising-based revenue streams. Juniper Research forecasts that almost 30 per cent of the global mobile subscriber base, around 1.3 billion users, are expected to be using local mobile search services by 2013 and that advertising supported local search will be the key to driving this sector, though effectiveness of advertising in this sector will vary widely according to local conditions.
“T9 Nav will drive mobile advertising forward as the whole mobile industry continues to grow. Its effortless keyword search not only helps the mobile user, but also represents an exciting opportunity for brands and the advertising industry as a whole,” said William Clement, EMEA Mobile Marketing Head, Nuance Communications.
The keywords provide a rapid way for brands to amplify their mobile reach. Times Mobile for example will sponsor keywords like News, Sport, Taxi and Jobs. T9 Nav allows direct access to the numerous Times services and should increase awareness and usage.
The T9 Nav Beta is freely available to people with S60 phones that sign up and participate in the T9 Nav Beta program. People should visit t9nav.com to join and download to take advantage of the intuitive T9 Nav experience.
About T9 Nav
T9 Nav is simple and powerful mobile discovery software that significantly improves the mobile user experience by allowing users to bypass button-driven menu systems which often require complex combinations of key presses, offering a fast, direct and repeatable way to access features and content on the phone. It intelligently adapts to user behaviour over time, reordering and predicting frequently searched terms using the industry-leading, patented algorithms from XT9/T9 software. Designed to complement a device's existing look and feel, T9 Nav does not change how the user interface or menu areas on the phone look or perform, but works alongside these elements and by placing all menu areas just a couple of clicks away from the idle screen. Already available to device manufacturers as embedded software, this Beta edition offers end users the first opportunity to download T9 Nav.
Available: Personal Edition of T9 Nav commercially available in last quarter of 2008, in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French and English.
Where: Go now to t9nav.com to join the Beta program and download the free beta software.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance is a leading provider of speech, smart keypad and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. . Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications. As the creator of T9® Text Input, it has shipped its software on over 3.5 billion mobile handsets. For more information, please visit nuance.com and nuance.com/mobileexperience.
About Tiger™ Beer
Tiger Beer has won international praise and recognition for its consistently high quality and distinctive taste and is enjoyed by beer drinkers across five continents. Brewed in Singapore since 1932, the success of Tiger’s exceptional taste and style has now expanded to breweries in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, India, Malaysia and China.
Tiger Beer, the flagship brand of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, is one of the leading brands in Singapore and Indo-China. A lager beer made from the finest malt barley, yeast and hops, Tiger is brewed according to strict quality control and process management in breweries throughout Asia. A total of no less than 250 quality control checks are in place to ensure the smooth and consistent flavour that Tiger drinkers have come to expect. Tiger scored a major achievement by winning the prestigious 1998 Brewing Industry International Awards Gold Medal, making it the best lager in the world. Asia Pacific Breweries, Tiger’s parent company, continues to be ranked as one of the 15 most valuable Singapore brands in the Singapore Brand Awards. For further information please visit: www.tigerbeer.co.uk.
About Times Mobile
Times Mobile is the mobile site of The Times and The Sunday Times. It delivers the latest news, business, sports and entertainment coverage from two of the world's best-known newspapers as well as breaking news from Times Online, the News Site of the Year, live sports commentaries and scores and a location-based Going Out Guide. Text Times to 86626 to get Times Mobile on your phone, or go to www.timesonline.co.uk/timesmobile for more information.
Contact Information
|
