Kiwi mobile marketer snapped up by major US publisher

Wednesday 22nd July 2009

Auckland-based mobile marketing firm The Hyperfactory has found a new cornerstone shareholder in a leading American womens' publisher and marketing agency, the New York Stock Exchange-listed Meridith Corporation.

Meredith has purchased for an undisclosed sum a 19.9% stake in The Hyperfactory, which is recognised as a global leader in marketing and content delivery to mobile platforms and is one of a string of recent investments by Meridith in online and new media capability.

Under the brand slogan "we inspire, she makes it happen", Meredith's roots are in ownership of such powerful American magazine brands as Better Home and Gardens, Family Circle, Ladie's Home Journal and Beautiful Homes, and prides itself on the largest direct to consumer database in US advertising, as well as reach to 75 million American women.

The company reported total revenues in the 2008 fiscal year of US$1.6 billion. Founded 107 years ago, it has been listed on the NYSE since 1965 and has interests in magazine and book publishing, marketing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media.

The company is expecting exponential growth in both marketing and other content delivery to mobile platforms over the next few years, with estimates from market-watchers Neilson Mobile and eMarketer suggesting total revenues will explode from US$805 million in 2007 to US$3.6 billion in 2010.

The Hyperfactory was founded in 2001 by New Zealand brothers Geoffrey and Derek Handley, and claims to be the world's "most awarded and oldest independent specialist" in mobile marketing, with clients including Coca-Cola, BlackBerry, L'Oreal, Vodafone, Disney and Kraft. It has 100 staff and operations in Auckland, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Sydney and Hyderabad.

Derek Handley will remain CEO.

"Joining forces with The Hyperfactory provides Meredith's Integrated Marketing Unit with access to the fast-growing mobile category and complements our recent acquisitions in the digital marketing space," Jack Griffin, president of the Meredith Publishing Group, said.

These include interactive marketing firms O'Grady Meyers and Genex, word-of-mouth and Web 2.0 specialists New Media Strategies, strategic database firm Directive, and a healthcare marketing company, Big Communications.

Meredith's integrated marketing unit counts Chrysler, Kraft, Kellogg's, Pepsi, Nestle and the US insurer State Farm among its clients.

Businesswire.co.nz

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