• by Tameka Kee , August 16, 2007

North Carolina-based UpSNAP, a mobile search and streaming audio service provider, said it will merge with Mobile Greetings--expanding both companies' mobile content and advertising offerings.

In other mobile news, RealTechNetwork, a New York and Bristol-based online publisher network, has partnered with MoPhap, giving network sponsors like Procter & Gamble and Hewlett-Packard the option to integrate mobile advertising into their mix.

UpSNAP's text and streaming audio services are licensed as branded or white-label applications by wireless carriers and mobile content providers. The company has agreements with service providers, media companies and advertisers--including AT&T, ESPN Radio, and Hotels.com.

California-based Mobile Greetings, meanwhile, has arrangements with media outlets like Universal, Sony and Disney to deliver rich media greeting cards via mobile phones. According to CEO Jacob Litke, the company's merger with UpSNAP will "add valuable new revenue streams, and allow us to offer a complete suite of services to all mobile consumers, regardless of carrier or handset type."

The combined company would have generated unaudited pro-forma revenues of approximately $946,000 in the second quarter of 2007. Under terms of the agreement, Mobile Greetings shareholders will receive shares equal to 50% of the common stock of the new company. No word has yet been given on a name, headquarters or Web site change.

RealTechNetwork currently serves more than 22.8 billion monthly ad impressions, which it hopes to increase by tapping into MoPhap's mobile publisher network. The performance marketing company will also leverage MoPhap's SparkMobile ad serving platform, which allows advertisers to behaviorally target users via a profile that's based on their mobile browsing histories over time.

"Mobile and online advertising strategies are merging rapidly, and MoPhap's technology makes them an ideal business partner for RealTechNetwork," said James Borrows, director of publisher relations for RealTechNetwork. "Now, advertisers will have the rare opportunity for tapping a single source for both online and mobile media buys."