• by Larry Dobrow , Featured Columnist, April 17, 2006

Add Mazingo to the list of companies attempting to forge a stronger connection between print media and mobile devices. The British company is keen on delivering just about anything to users' wireless handsets.

Here's how the firm's multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) system works: If, say, a fashion magazine wants to entice readers to download a video from the recent debut of a designer's summer line, it can list a five-digit code within or next to the story. After readers enter the code into their phones and hit "send," the video is sent straight to their phones or handheld devices. The cost of the download varies according to the content.

Mazingo, which bills itself as a "mobile entertainment network," appears particularly eager for advertisers to embrace its technology by listing codes in and around print ads. "If you ran five different ads in a magazine, you could see which ones appealed most to which audience," explains Mazingo Chairman Ray Winter. "The consumer-relationship potential is enormous."

Winter distinguishes Mazingo's model from comparable efforts by noting how the company has struck relationships with virtually every mobile network. "Before, you would have had to go to different suppliers, sign up for each and get a separate bill from each. What we've done is provide a universal portal. You sign up once and then you select the content you want to receive," he says. At press time, Mazingo had no plans for a U.S. launch.