• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 6, 2007

Silverback Wireless, a Paris-based mobile marketing firm, is making its U.S. debut through its global partnership with Paris-based video-sharing hub Dailymotion. Silverback will now help Dailymotion to expand stateside by extending its offerings to U.S. mobile users.

Silverback is well-positioned for its North American invasion. Along with Paris and London, Silverback has set up offices in Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles and Miami. In addition, earlier this year, Silverback entered into a joint venture with former Comcast Cable senior executive Terry Bienstock, known as Mobilactive Media.

Silverback Wireless CEO Paul Amsellem is relying on Bienstock to ingratiate the company and its mobile ambitions with U.S. marketers, many of whom still see mobile as an immature medium.

In the U.S., said Amsellem: "Our main barrier to entry is the maturity of marketers and ad agencies. Terry is helping us convince them to accept mobile."

Silverback has yet to sign up any U.S. marketers for Dailymotion's mobile platform, according to Amsellem. Through Mobilactive, however, the company is helping a number of top marketers expand their ad campaigns with mobile.

Dailymotion recently made its official U.S. debut with a tailored site and a team of established stateside media executives. Spearheading its U.S. expansion is Joy Marcus, former senior vice president of global marketing at Time Warner.

The YouTube alternative already does particularly well with U.S. viewers--drawing more than 4.7 million video streams in April, according to comScore Video Metrix. The average video streamer at the site viewed more than ten videos and nearly one hour of video content during the month. Also, 18- to-34-year-olds represented 37% of Dailymotion's views, according to comScore.

According to a Dailymotion spokesman, the company has yet to announce its broader U.S. mobile strategy. Amsellem, for his part, sees the unripened U.S. mobile market as an opportunity to expand his business.

"Growth is higher in North America than is it is Europe because it is less mature," he said. "We had the same issues in Europe three years ago that we're having now here."

And the mobile market is there for the taking, according to Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York market-research firm. "Everyone's looking for something new and wonderful now, so there's a lot of shifting going on in mobile," Passikoff said.

According to Amsellem, in Europe, Silverback was responsible for 10 million SMS message during the month of November. By comparison, he estimated the company was sending 1 million monthly SMS messages in Europe three years ago.

In 2006, the company acquired the mobile marketing services company Cellcast Interactif, which Amsellem founded in 2001. Silverback's European partners include a Carat, Euro RSCG, and Thomson, along with brands like Coca-Cola and Sony.

Expanding its North American footprint, the company also recently acquired Montreal-based Atlas Mobile and Toronto-Paris outfit FollowCom.

At Comcast, Bienstock served as executive vice president and general counsel, law and government affairs for Comcast Cable Communications, where he oversaw the company's video-on-demand platform.