• by Joe Mandese , February 7, 2008

It may not make headlines in the U.S. trade press, but WPP’s GroupM unit has struck a mobile advertising deal that may make it the idol of others on Madison Avenue. The deal gives it a lock on some precious mobile advertising real estate: idle time. GroupM, which is the parent of media agencies such as MindShare, Mediaedge:cia, MediaCom, and Maxus, will become the preferred media partner for mobile advertising developer Celltick. The deal is significant, because Celltick has developed a proprietary application enabling advertisers and content providers to broadcast targeted content and marketing messages to idle cell phone screens, essentially turning them into a network of interactive billboards.

GroupM and Celltick did not disclose the terms of the agreement, but it initially covers Asia Pacific, a region where cell phone advertising isn’t, well, idle.

Says Celltick CEO Stephen Dunford, “We are working to create an ecosystem where mobile advertising can grow to reach critical mass."