Tie ups galore.. Just yesterday we blogged about a tie up between Bigflix and future group and more tie ups have cropped up recently. Its a sign of cross leveraging competencies and focusing on one’s core competency.
Lets look at two such tie ups today:
MySpace partners Virgin Mobile – WIll Now Be available across Virgin Handsets
MySpace.com the global giant social network which has taken the entertainment route to social networking India has tied up with the youthful Virgin mobile. According to this tie up MySpace services shall be available on Virgin Mobile WAP-enabled phones. MySpace would be accessible by clicking the MySpace link on vBytes and logging in the user ID and password. MySpace would also be gaining new users via this model as new users can begin by creating a fresh id and password.
We have blogged earlier about Mobile Social Networking especially about the mobile phone bundling deals done by RocketTalk and Qeep. Our take on such deals was unless the mobile operator/manufacturer is of sizeable stature the deal makes little sense. Also just because the app is bundled doesn’t mean it would be used. In this particular tie up between MySpace and Virgin its more of a promotion via WAP portal. I feel given Virgin’s miniscule reach in India (given its new in the market) this wouldn’t have a huge impact for MySpace. But the very fact that new users can sign up as well this is a nice investment for the longterm. The other factor is that goes with MySpace is the brand synergy between myspace and virgin.
Interactive Avenues Partners Efficient For ROI Maximization For Clients
Interactive Avenues the digital marketing firm formed after the exodus from Mediaturf a couple of years back announced an exclusive partnership with Efficient Frontier. Efficient Frontier will provide Interactive Avenues technology to help Clients maximize return on their search marketing. This tie-up is based on a revenue sharing model. Efficient Frontier is headquartered in US and has an office in India in Chennai. Their major market right now is the US and this is a way for them to enter the Indian market.
As per the IAMAI and IMRB Report on the Indian Search Engine Marketing Industry more than 50% growth is expected in 2009 (keep in mind this report did not consider the slowdown 
). The major firms in Search Marketing are Pinstorm and Communicate2 both of whom have strategic partners in Lintas and Aegis Media respectively. As digital marketing progresses in 2009 tie ups and use of technology is likely to rise.
