Microsoft has announced plans to buy ScreenTonic, a company that specializes in delivering localized ads to mobile devices, for an undisclosed sum. ScreenTonic, based in Paris and founded in 2001, will become part of Microsoft"s Digital Advertising Solutions group, created in September 2006 to sell advertising across its devices such as the Xbox gaming system and its Web sites. ScreenTonic has worked with Apple, Nokia, and Nike in addition to European telecommunications operators in Belgium, France, and the U.K.
ScreenTonic"s platform, called Stamp, enables delivery of text or banner links on portals, ads in SMS messages, and ads in mobile Web pages that vary depending on where the reader is located. The platform includes a manager component, which can handle monitoring, billing, and reporting, and a server that delivers ads according to certain criteria. It also has a sales component for developing and selling ad campaigns.