10 Most Read Cabana Mobile Posts of 2009

1. How Much Money Do Mobile Ad Networks Make?
2. KongZhong Got It Goin' On
3. Fish Broth: The Plot Thickens In GetFugu Investment Drama
4. If The Top 10 Generate $700mil Can Mobile Games Really Be A $5.4bil Business?
5. Palm Pre Demo From D7 Is Better Than Porn
6. Updated: Top 10 Mobile Games Publishers WW
7. MOBshop Speculation Is Red Hot
8. Update: GLUU Volume Stays High As Boards Buzz About Changyou & Other Theories
9. Will de Masi & Kranzler Finally Get Hands-On To Realize It's Potential?
10. Report: At AT&T Motricity is Jen & Amdocs is Angelina

Rotten Fish? GetFugu Not Getting $5mil Funding After All

Last week I wrote a post about a recent flurry of deal and funding activity at enhanced mobile search marketing company GetFugu (GFGU). Well today something clearly went pear-shaped with those investments from SpongeTech ($4mil) and Vanity Events Holding ($1mil). This morning GetFugu issued a press release announcing that it had rescinded the investments... which is odd, since they were the recipient. Basically they were saying they no longer wanted or needed the money (maybe 'rejected' would've been the right word). Then later in the day SpongeTech (who was also planning to be a customer) issued its own release declaring that their "investment arrangement with GetFugu, Inc. has been rescinded"... making it sound like it was their decision not to pursue the investment. To make matters messier, SpongeTech had advanced GetFugu $1.75mil in anticipation that the companies would reach a definitive agreement, and apparently GetFugu has already spent the money (oops!). So, now they need to find alternative financing to pay back those funds. Well inquiring minds definitely want to know much more about what really went down here, right? You gotta figure, either something went very badly between GetFugu and these investors, or that GetFugu found a bigger and/or better investor... or potentially, a buyer. One thing is quite clear, the market thinks this stinks. GetFugu's stock plummeted 37% on heavy volume.

Is Fox's Brainstorm Minty Fresh or Curiously Wrong?

Fox Mobile Studios (FMS), the creative production arm of Fox Mobile Group, announced today that it has partnered with Wrigley's Altoids brand to create an 8-episode short form scripted comedy for mobile and online platforms entitled "Brainstorm" (check out the site). The show, which was created in collaboration with LA-based cross-media branded entertainment agency Omelet, is about a dysfunctional advertising agency that hires a wacky ad industry guru to help them land the Altoids account. It premieres on September 28th...online at least. The release doesn't mention where or when the show will debut on mobile, but one's gotta presume this will be a major feature on their Fox.mobi WAP site at the very least. The content will be available for free on the web and probably gratis through mobile outlets as well. It's unclear whether this is a standalone revenue generating initiative for Fox Mobile or if it's more of a support function for a 360-degree (cross platform) advertising deal initiated out of the media giant's TV group. Given the heavy brand integration and their own history with "Mobisodes" (the format they invented and trademarked back in 2005) which were far more successful in terms of publicity than profitability, I have to believe that this is primarily an ad-support play. Assuming that's the case, it will be interesting to see if; 1) this works creatively, 2) it gets eyeballs, 3) if (and how) Altoids deems this a success, and 4) if (and how quickly) other brands come aboard. What do you guys think based on the trailer below?

Velti's Prelim 1H 2009...Still Hard To Read The Health Of Mobile Marketing

London-based mobile marketing platform provider Velti (VEL), which recently bought Ad Infuse, estimates that it's Jan - June revenue has grown 50% to about $30mil on "strong demand" for it's technology, according to Reuters. The company, founded in 2000, has contracts with big mobile operators like Vodafone, Orange France & Telefonica Mexico and a bunch of blue-chip brands like Microsoft, Mastercard, Nestle, Disney, Colgate-Palmolive and Bacardi. Velti claims its platform can currently reach up to 2bil people in 35 countries (hmm...but how many people have actually ever seen a Velti message?). While ostensibly encouraging, what's totally unclear from this statement is whether there's any organic growth going on here, or whether gains are solely attributable to the Ad Infuse acquisition. I guess we will see when the real numbers are released in the next few weeks.

btw -- there's been a lot of speculation about how much Velti paid for San Francisco-based Ad Infuse...but the fact that the company is now disclosing that it's borrowed $14mil from investors to fund the purchase (and other activities) should help give us a clue...again, all should be revealed with official 1st half results.