A vast majority of innovation is coming out of the developed world and being planted in emerging markets, says Valerie Wagoner, founder and CEO, ZipDial.
Speaking at the Festival of Media Asia in Singapore, Wagoner discussed how Twitter’s recent purchase of her business ZipDial has enabled the company to accelerate its growth in emerging markets such as India.
“Certain markets behave differently and therefore need to be handled differently,” said Wagoner.
“Even though smartphone penetration is booming, we still need to think about that quarter of mobile devices in India that lack internet access.”
According to Wagner, a lot of consumers in the market use a minimal amount of MB data per month.
“The challenge is not so much about devices, it’s more about how connected people are to mobile-internet.”
ZipDial’s technology bridges the gap between those consumers with little internet access, and brands. Users can call a toll-free phone number, which in return will generate calls, messages or notifications through their phone.
“If you’re a brand and want to connect to a large audience – you must think about how to get your content in front of people in a way that demonstrates your value,” said Wagner.
“We need to think about providing lightweight, accessible channels for consumers,” she added.
ZipDial has achieved more than 1 billion connections between consumers and brands. Its clients include Pepsi, Disney, Airtel and Cadbury.
“The idea is to bring these entry level screens to Twitter, which has really perfected the hyper-connected online screen, making it a seamless experience and very accessible to anyone with a mobile phone.”
The other important gap that ZipDial has filled is to do with mobile data. Wagner points out that marketers struggle to get a hold of it in a market such as India, but ZipDial solves the problem.
“These people who were invisible to marketers can now be seen – bringing these two worlds together which is particularly powerful.
“With Twitter, ZipDial can achieve its global vision,” she added.
