Mondelez International, Inc. recently announced that nine selected start-ups will participate in the company's Mobile Futures program. A first of its kind program, Mobile Futures teams power brands with some of the brightest minds in the space: start-up entrepreneurs.
The company received hundreds of applications and after a two-day presentation event with the program's top applicants, nine start-up companies were selected to partner with Mondelez International brand teams to create and launch new mobile pilots in just 90 days. Pilots will focus on driving impulse purchases and mobile-at-retail consumer experiences, with additional pilots in the important areas of social TV and SoLoMo (social/location/mobile). Brands and start-ups will work together as follows:
- Trident & Lisnr (Cincinnati, Ohio) and ROXIMITY (Denver, Colo.)
- Stride & Waze (Palo Alto, Calif.)
- Chips Ahoy! & Shelby.tv (New York, N.Y.)
- Halls & Dailybreak (Boston, Mass.)
- belVita & inMarket (Venice, Calif.)
- Multi-brand program & Endorse (San Mateo, Calif.)
- Sour Patch Kids & Kiip (San Francisco, Calif.)
- OREO & Banjo (Redwood City, Calif.)
"We are excited to have these brilliant mobile innovators on board and look forward to working together over the next 90 days to bring new technologies to market," said Bonin Bough, vice president of global media and consumer engagement at Mondelez International, in a prepared statement. "Our marketers were truly impressed by the caliber of innovation they saw at our pitch event. They are now eager to continue to work with start-ups to drive high-impact experiences, beyond Mobile Futures, as we continue to march towards a mobile-first strategy."
"The Chips Ahoy! team is thrilled to begin working with Shelby.tv as we look to enhance how we engage with our consumers through mobile and particularly social TV," said Leslie Waller, senior brand manager, Chips Ahoy! at Mondelez International.
"I'm really excited about our start-up selection, Waze – in particular, the variety of ways their technology can drive impulse purchases with Stride and keep the brand top-of-mind with consumers. Mobile Futures gives us a great opportunity to partner with a mobile tech-star of the future," said Betty Su, director of marketing, young adult gum at Mondelez International.
