Twitter has gone shopping recently – and in the process, they have picked up India-based mobile marketing startup ZipDial, making ZipDial their very first acquisition in Asia as it looks to leverage the number of users who are in emerging markets. After all, Asia houses plenty of people – and two of the world’s largest populations happen to be in Asia alone, numbering more than 2 billion people in total – and with a growing economy and middle class in their respective countries, you know that there is plenty of room for expansion. The financial terms of the deal remained a secret – for now, that is, although there has been whispers of up to $30 million changing hands.
Bangalore-based ZipDial is well known for being successful at “missed call” marketing. It works in a similar manner as that of a collect call, where people in India tend to dial a number and hang up prior to connecting to communicate with friends or family members. ZipDial enables consumers to dial a number to a company, and then place a missed call, which will in turn send SMS text messages and advertisements back to their handset without having a charge incurred.
Rishi Jaitly, market director of Twitter India, shared, “This is an investment in emerging markets. The deal “ensures we can reach every Indian with a mobile device.”
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