- Shahnaz Mahmud

NEW YORK Interactive TV firm SinglePoint has launched what it believes to be the first mobile ad insertion platform. Dubbed SingleBrand, the offering is designed to retrieve and serve ads for interactive shows on networks such as Bravo, NBC, MTV, Fox and the CW.

"This is the first time that anybody has provided a vehicle for other ad networks to get exposure to messaging traffic available for ad insertion. The idea of what we are trying to do here is expose all of the inventory that is eligible from our clients and make that available to a variety of other ad networks," said Rich Begert, president and CEO of SinglePoint.

One mobile ad net that's signed up is RingLeader Digital. Discussions are underway with several others, Begert said.

When viewers respond to calls to action -- for example, voting for their favorite performer via their mobile phones - they're served a confirmation reply that also includes an ad message. Thus, SinglePoint's media and entertainment partners can generate revenue by providing advertisers access to viewers.

Advertisers can use click-to-call, click-to-link and click-to-SMS on the platform.

Begert noted that SingleBrand allows advertisers to more carefully target prospects, while consumers receive more relevant messages "so they are not just being bombarded with aimless types of advertising."

U.S. mobile advertising revenue is expected to exceed $2 billion by 2012, said Vikrant Gandhi, senior analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "2008 is an exciting turning point for the industry, where mobile advertising is actually becoming a line item for leading agencies and brands. A greater participation of advertisers in the mobile opportunity is expected to be the prime growth driver."