Internet Marketing and Website Promotion

Steve Taylor - Mobile Messenger

June 10, 2009

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As Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Taylor is responsible for managing Mobile Messenger’s growth mission and operational objectives, as well as leading the strategic planning and initiatives for global business operations.

Taylor’s leadership, process orientation, sheer determination and “no fear” attitude stem from his early career as an airline pilot. At Qantas Airways he flew B747s for nearly 10 years and served as a fellow flight instructor educating others on the rules of the sky. His former career as a pilot helped him learn about the importance of discipline and attention to excellence.

Steve’s entrepreneurial attitude and business knowledge developed from his past small business ventures in the retail and hospitality industries—all of which expanded quickly after inception.   

Today Mobile Messenger is one of the leading players in the global mobile entertainment industry, with operations in 10 countries and more than 200 employees. Steve Taylor has used his strong work ethic, leadership skills, and business know-how to drive Mobile Messenger into new markets and maintain success in every venture it pursues.

Steve’s ability to see the big picture, complement success, drive for constant innovation, streamline internal systems and drive motivation within the company is what allows Mobile Messenger to remain at the forefront of this rapidly expanding industry.

Tell us about his background and role in the company.

As noted above, as Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Taylor is responsible for managing Mobile Messenger’s growth mission— leading the strategic planning and initiatives for global business expansion.

“A sailing accident that left me suffering from migraines meant that I had to abandon my career as a pilot. Soon after, I started a direct marketing company with a focus on the hospitality industry. Seeing the mobile phone as a huge potential for sales and marketing, I contacted Amnet, a company that was building the first text message marketing system in Australia. Together I worked with Shaun Collopy, General Manager of Amnet at the time, to create a white-label solution for Mobile Messenger. Success with nightclubs and hotels validated SMS as a marketing tool and inspired Shaun and me to create a desktop application which integrated into Microsoft Outlook, allowing users to send messages from Outlook to their contacts.

We worked with several leading retailers in Australia, and when Premium SMS was launched in March 2003, we were very aggressive in positioning ourselves as the first premium SMS provider in Australia. Business accelerated, with revenues growing from $40K to over $1M a month within a year. 2005 was a pivotal year for Mobile Messenger. Shaun and I merged Mobile Messenger and Sol Mobile, bringing all of the technology in-house. Realizing a green-field opportunity existed in the US, we entered the market in January 2005, with the opening of an office in New York. We opened the Los Angeles office in September 2006 to fully capture opportunity in the U.S., and the rest is history in the making.”

What are Mobile Messenger’s main products/services?

PRODUCTS
•    Proprietary Content Management System
-    Delivers ringtones, videos, images and text alerts
-    Content trans-coding for 2,800+ mobile devices
•    Gateway & Billing Aggregation
-    Delivering over 100,000,000 messages
-    Secured MEP billing
•    Mobile Text Chat Application
-    Over 3 million messages exchanged per month
•    Trivia & Games
-    Advanced trivia engine
•    Reverse Auction
-    BidandWin
•    PSMS Portals
-    Fully customizable white-label portal
-    Rich content, easy content management, and value add

SERVICES
•    Campaign Creation & Management
       -   Support our experts in Account Management, Design,
           Configuration, Content and Marketing
•    Localized Customer Care Center on behalf of clients

What makes Mobile Messenger firm different from other companies competing in your industry?

“Mobile Messenger facilitates all aspects of mobile phone entertainment, making it hard for us to be placed in simply one category. We are an Aggregator, we are a Content Provider, we are a Technology Provider, we are pushing for consumer protection, we are innovators… We are unique. From the start we have been a “build not buy” company, developing our own IP in-house. This has created a strong, feature-rich technology platform that gives us the ability to customize campaigns quickly and be fully flexible in a very dynamic market. From concept, creative, delivery, technology, billing, customer service to analysis, the company provides a complete managed service to our clients, an end-to-end service.  
We are focused on the longevity and the entire end-to-end ecosystem of the mobile industry.”

Tell us more about Mobile Messenger’s success story.

“Our history plays a big part in the culture of Mobile Messenger. We are a company that is lean and aggressive. Every day we operate with a sense of urgency and are confident in our ability to enter mature markets and not only quickly generate revenue, but also secure top positions in this fast-paced mobile industry.

Our superior team is another key to our success. We have deep experience with carriers, sales, marketing, technology, and finance. We have always felt that if we can continue to build upon these areas – our culture and team of the right people – the business model would be a guaranteed success.”

According to you (Steve), what are the most important questions a potential client should ask before choosing a company like yours?

“I think a client should look for experience and a strong track record in the mobile industry. What we’ve seen is that along with tough barriers to entry into the market, there are many pitfalls that can affect how a company performs.”   

What are some of the myths you’ve faced in the mobile entertainment field?

•    Consumers are not willing to pay for mobile entertainment /content

“There is a way to build a subscriber base with Premium SMS – by focusing on providing value for the consumer. Delivering quality content (ringtones, wallpapers, text alerts) and securing partnerships with the likes of Universal Music Group to add to our vast content portfolio, creating a fun portal atmosphere, keep the end user satisfied.”

How do you develop your skills in this continuously changing environment?

It is our goal to stay on top of trends in the market in order to remain leaders in our industry, as well as create opportunities for our partners to multiply their revenue streams and cross-selling opportunities.

What do you see as the future of the industry? What will be the challenges? Do you anticipate any drastic changes?

Some of the changes we foresee for the mobile entertainment industry:

•    Improved content & handsets (feature-rich)
•    Adaptation of applications outside of the iphone
•    Increase in consumer (user) generated content

Where do you see Mobile Messenger in the next 5 years? What about you personally?

“Today Mobile Messenger has offices in USA, Australia, and Canada and runs successful revenue-generating operations in North America, APAC, UK, South Africa, and Europe. We have aggressive plans to continue expanding our geographic reach and we will continue to focus on expanding relationships, technology and product development. As the Founder and CEO, I believe in the company and will continue to see to it that our growth mission and operational objectives are being met.”