| Public | BNG |
| Date | 7/03 |
| Website | buongiorno.com |
| Category | Mobile |
| Phone | +39 02 582131 |
| Employees | 1,000 |
| Founded | 1999 |
Buongiorno (Italy, MTA STAR: BNG) is a trendsetting, independent mobile media and technology company driving the burgeoning mobile content industry. Buongiorno has become the world’s No. 1 company in mobile entertainment, with 38 offices, business in 53 countries, connections to more than 100 telephone carriers globally, and access to over 2 billion mobile phone users. The incorporation of iTouch has enabled even further investment in the field of convergent web and mobile services. The significant geographical presence, large portfolio of content and services, and team of more than 1,100 professionals make Buongiorno the World’s largest enabler of mobile content in a market expected to hit US$55bn by 2010 with approximately 840 million users who use cell phones as media players .
Buongiorno’s mission is to bring digital entertainment to everyone through innovation.
Awards 2007 – Best D2C Content Provider, awarded by the Mobile Entertainment Magazine (UK) 2007 – Best Service in the Innovation Category, TIM music store, Revista Telecom Magazine (BR) 2007 – Best Corporate Governance, awarded by IR Global Rankings 2006 – Transatlantic Award, awarded by the American Chamber of Commerce 2006 – Orange Grand Prize for Innovation, awarded at MIPCOM 2006 – Europe’s 500 one of Europe’s fastest growing companies, supported by Microsoft and KPMG
The core of Buongiorno’s operations is a technology platform called B!3A (Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace). Mobile carriers and media companies use B!3A to host and run technology that puts all their content on one server, rather than spread content around different platforms. Providers can load whatever content they want, coded in any software, and, present and distribute it in any conceivable manner. It readily facilitates user-generated content, special promotions, loyalty programs, intelligently sends alerts and permits voice prompts. Key to content providers, it can also track what is selling, administer digital rights and integrates this information into contractual, flat-fee and pay-as-you-go billing. Buongiorno is leading the mobile industry’s move to an IP infrastructure- a critical step in turning the mobile phone into a digital entertainment device. The main clients include Shinee in Thailand, IndiaTime in India, ABS-CBN Interactive in the Philippines, VASC in Vietnam and recently Vodafone Egypt.
Another milestone has been reached by Buongiorno through the launch of a global consumer brand called BlinkoGold – a premium digital store delivering richer content alongside unique offerings, like streamed pop concerts and live comedy shows. Product innovation is core, demonstrable through the recent Ferrari partnership offering content to mobile phone users in Italy, Spain, Brazil and the US. 2007 also saw the award-winning TIM Music Store gain more than 1.7 million downloadable tracks. In early 2008 the mobile social networking application BING was rolled out internationally.
Partnerships: Telco, Media and Web Luminaries Buongiorno works with the world’s most prominent carriers, media and Net powerhouses. Its portfolio is offered through partnerships with more than 100 leading telecom companies, including, Vodafone, Orange, TIM; Telefonica and T-mobile in Europe; Sprint, Verizon and AT&T in the US, Quatar andKuwait’s Wataniya in the Middle East and Africa, and India’s BSNL.
Media and internet partners include Disney, Sony Pictures, MGM, Viacom, Latin American Juggernaut Televisa, Japan’s Sanrio, Spanish leaders Telecinco, IndiaTimes, Italian publisher Gruppo L’Espresso and Vietnam’s Vietnamnet. Some tap Buongiorno to run their own mobile media operations, others license their material for the Company to sell directly through BlinkoGold. They use Buongiorno to distribute music, games, images and videos for a wide range of titles including 007 Casino Royale, Cars and South Park.
Buongiorno has deals with all four major record labels; Warner, Universal, Sony BMG and EMI, selling everything from ringtones to full track songs. The artist list is vast containing Madonna, Beyonce, 50 Cent…The Company offers 500,000+ products and varies them by region, allowing cultural autonomy.
blinko and Social Networking
1) Voice traffic stable or declining, high demand for data services. The mobile world is changing driven by the demand of data services (also known as value added services): forecasted revenues for voice traffic are stable or slightly declining while growth is expected from other data services i.e. accessing Internet while on the go; e-mail access, social networking and other online services available anywhere and on any device.
2) A better user experience, anytime anywhere as a priority. Findings from research on data cards usage show a growing use of broadband access outside home and in mobility, while users expect high-performance devices and faster mobile networks, which provide with a better user experience and data capacity; cheaper and flat pricing which make data consumption more affordable; and a pervasive use of Web 2.0 services like Facebook, MySpace YouTube,but also eBay.
3) Mobile social networking, filling the gap in the “connected lifestyle”. Social networking has become not only a web destination but also a great activity framework which attracts millions of users interested in maintaining their relationship with a circle of friends. The same is going to happen when social networking goes on mobile devices – cell phones are not merely another platform, they add the ubiquity factor that makes mobile social networking a totally new experience. Surveys show that mobile users want to share emotions, experiences with their many friends in any moment, without bothering about communicating with mobile or pc; what they seek is the chance to do some of the things they normally do on their PCs and social networking is at the top of the list. Mobile is the natural place to be for Social Networking. Nothing new from a social point of view: the essence is to communicate & share the most interesting things happening in everyday’s life with friends in a “virtual square”. What is new is the fact that communication is no longer one to one or one to many but rather becomes circular and involves the friends’ group that want to remain always in synch, stay tuned and constantly updated. The virtual square is nothing different from the Italian “piazza” that became the heart of the daily city-life in the Middle Age. Not surprisingly, it’s an Italian-based company like Buongiorno, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment who decided to elect the mobile social networking as the key application for the Mobile 2.0 framework.
4) Buongiorno, in the best position to benefit from the mSN opportunity. With direct connections to more than 100 telephone carriers throughout the world, and access to over 2 billion mobile users, Buongiorno is the world’s No. 1 company in mobile entertainment. As one of the first movers in the mobile social networking with a mobile native solution called blinko, Buongiorno is ready to evolve from the world leader in mobile entertainment 1.0 to the world leader in mobile entertainment 2.0. From a business standpoint, aiming at a market of mobile communities users that will grow by a 10 factor by 2012 to 428 million (source: Informa), opens up a huge market where mobile devices will prevail on PC-based Internet access devices quite quickly. The early adopters of such a new generation of mobile services will be the “digital natives”, people born in the digital era that have a strong desire to share experiences, interests and feelings with friends and are looking for the best communication channels, irrespective of time and place. They normally use voice calls as well as SMS, e-mail, web SMS and IM for their communication needs, demand the easiest and richest user experience and privilege the social dimension rather than the “pure state-of-the art technology”. They are not geeks, but constantly connected content-creators and multi-tasking spending about 5,000 hours of video games, 3,500 hours of online SN, 10,000 hours of mobile phone use, 25,000 hours of emails, IM & SMS (Source: The Digital Natives Project 2007, Pew Internet & American Life Project 2007, Financial Times Sept. 20, 2006). To them communication means embracing the “inner and outer circle” of their friends and social contacts; their focus is not establishing a large circle of friends but having these friends tied together.
5) blinko, the forerunner of a new breed of mobile native social media. Indeed, none of the existing SN platforms is focused on communication with friends but rather on connecting with acquaintances. The mobile experience they offer can be frustrating as not specifically designed for mobile. Buongiorno is filling a gap in mobile SN providing a mobile native SN platform. blinko is the first mobile SN because comes from mobile and moves into web, it brings people closer together by enabling them to actively and passively communicate the most interesting daily experiences seamlessly through all channels (Web, WAP, client, SMS, MMS). blinko is also the ideal SN platform for circular communication and Buongiorno expects an adoption similar to SMS in terms of quantity and frequency of use. Buongiorno is currently the only company specialised in providing mobile entertainment with about 10 years experience and know-how in the developing of content for mobile users; blinko SN product is a natural extension of Buongiorno’s business.
