Livewire Zones In On Middle East
When Littleton-based cell phone content provider Livewire Mobile acquired United Kingdom-based FoneStarz Media Group in 2010, it also took in a growing base of knowledge about its market in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region.
Now the company is leveraging that experience to pursue new business relationships in the region. And it just joined a new Quatar-based committee of content providers seeking to increase the output of local content for the population there, which is full of heavy cell phone users already.
It turns out, locally produced content is important to Middle Eastern and North African cell phone users, said David Moreau, the former CEO of FoneStarz and now Livewire's chief operating officer.
The way people in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are consuming apps, games and music is quite different from the North America.
"What we found is that the Egyptian market is very region-specific," Moreau said. "It's music you've never heard of."
He said there was just one international artist in Livewire's list of the top 100 song purchases last year – Shakira.
It's a function of the culture, he said.
In many countries, about 80 percent of the content cell phone users consume is from big names like Disney and 20 percent is regional or local. But in the MENA region, consumers want music from regional artists. Nearly 70 percent of content sold through Livewire's content store for Vodafone in Egypt was regional or local, he said.
"It's not just a form of patriotism," Moreau said. "It's what's played on the radio and it's what they like."
And it means Livewire must seek out local content providers and secure agreements with them.
That's not the only difference between the North American and Middle Eastern content markets.
Wealthier customers in certain parts of the region are using high-end smartphones – often more than one – just like many people here. Livewire has content options for smartphones.
But many people in the region cannot afford smart phones, Moreau said. The company also has options for them.
Livewire hopes the millions using so-called feature phones represent a profitable opportunity.
Content for those devices is geared more toward ringtones and wallpaper, Moreau said.
"They're not saturated at all in terms of content services," he said.
It could be the boost the company needs to reach profitability. Livewire has been in the red since it spun out of Framingham-based NMS Communications Corp. in 2008. The company is down more than $12 million over the past three years.
But its international revenues are growing, and that includes the Middle East.
There will be plenty of challenges in pursuing the burgeoning content market there. Laws vary and so do trends and interests, Moreau said.
To stay abreast of demographics and other information, the company just joined fellow industry members to refine its strategy for the region.
Building A Regional Industry
Livewire joined a newly formed group this month called the MEF Middle East Steering Committee.
The MEF, which stands for Mobile Entertainment Forum, represents companies in the mobile media and entertainment industry.
The goal of the group's new Middle East committee, according to its website, is to strengthen the regional mobile market in the Middle East and promote investment in local content.
The idea is that more local content will drive the further adoption of mobile data services by people in the region.
Moreau said Livewire is also looking to increase its presence in the region through the new affiliation.
The company already has some business there, and it has two more deals in the works to provide content to regional carriers, he said. The details have not been publicly disclosed.
Forming stronger relationships with others doing business in the MENA region should help those ongoing deals, to drive others.
"It will help guide our company strategy," Moreau said.
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
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