Mountain View, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/17/2015 -- A mobile app-based platform designed to help brands more effectively connect and engage with consumers was officially launched today.

On the one hand, Minfo – short for 'More Information' – enables brands to digitise advertisements in traditional broadcast and print mediums; on the other, it allows consumers to use their mobile device to interact in real time with Minfo-enabled advertisements.

"We are entering a new era for 'mobile moments'," said Roland Storti, who has spent the past four years developing the proprietary technology that sits behind Minfo.

He said he came up with the idea for Minfo after listening to a radio advertisement.

"I wanted more information about the product being advertised, but by the time I was able to write down the details I had forgotten the name of the brand altogether. I thought: Why isn't there an app I could simply press and get more information about the product or service."

It turns out there wasn't, so Storti got started on Minfo.

Consumer Experience

According to Storti, Minfo 'closes the loop' on the consumer experience, making it easy for people to interact with brands in real time, whether it's to take advantage of advertising offers, purchase goods on-the-spot, request more information about a particular product or service, or make a booking online – all with the simple touch of a button or voice command.

"We started Minfo with the consumer in mind: How can we make it easier for people to interact with the ads they see on TV, hear on radio and read in print publications? We've taken it a couple of steps further and it can now also be used with online mediums such as YouTube as well as in physical retail premises."

Measuring Advertising Effectiveness

However, Minfo can also help companies and organisations track the effectiveness of their advertising.

"With the detailed back-end analytics we've built in to the Minfo platform, we can help brands determine whether or not their TV commercials and print and radio advertisements are actually working, and from there help measure the return on their investment," Storti said.

"In other words, are people seeing the ad and actually getting involved with the call to action? For a long time brand marketers have wanted to be able to measure the effectiveness of their advertising - not just reach, which can be a bit meaningless these days, but something a lot more tangible. Well now, with Minfo, they can."

Storti said advertisers would pay only if consumers used the app to interact with their brand.

Minfo is a pure pay-by-performance play. If people use the app to purchase goods or seek more information or make a booking online, then the advertiser pays between 5 and 50 cents per action taken, similar to Google's pay-per-click model with Adwords.

Benefits for Nonprofits

According to Storti, a goal from the start has been to involve the nonprofit sector so they too can benefit from the growth of the Minfo business.

"When people download the Minfo app and sign up to the service, they will get asked to pick a charity from a list of nonprofit affiliates provided. Then, every time they interact with the app and the advertiser pays a small fee, their nominated charity will receive a percentage of revenue generated," Storti said.

"Our goal from the beginning has been three-fold: (a) to be useful for consumers on a day-to-day basis, (b) provide a much-needed ROI measurement service for brand advertisers, and (c) create a positive impact on society generally," he said.

Minfo is free to download and is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Pre-Launch Media Call:

When: Tuesday, 14 July 2015 from 12:30pm until 1:30pm
Where: AttentionNOW & Digital360, Level 3, 32 Garden Street, South Yarra (opposite the Jam Factory)
Who: Roland Storti, Founder, Minfo (MyMinfo Pty Ltd) will demonstrate how Minfo works.

Launch Event Media Call:

When: Tuesday, 14 July 2015 from 6:30pm until 7:30pm (guests arrive at 7pm for the presentation at 7:30pm)

Where: The Trust Melbourne, 405 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (corner Market Street)

Who: Roland Storti, Founder, Minfo (MyMinfo Pty Ltd) and Dean 'Deano' Thomas, Mornings Radio Host, Nova 100, who will MC and facilitate the launch presentation and panel discussion.

For interview and picture opportunities, please contact:
Alex Lowen on 0438 726 533 or email Alex@AttentionNOW.com.au
Helen Reizer on 0412 684 431 or email HelenR@hrpr.com.au

BACKGROUND NOTES - Minfo

About Minfo
Minfo is a mobile app-based platform that helps brands more effectively connect and engage with consumers in real time.

It does this by digitising advertisements in traditional broadcast and print media, so that consumers can use their mobile device to make purchases, request more information or make a booking online, all with the simple touch of a button or voice command. Minfo calls this impulse engagement.

FOR BRAND ADVERTISERS, Minfo …

- helps bring broadcast and print advertising to life for recipients

- helps brands determine whether their broadcast (and print) advertising is working - that is, is the advertising effectively engaging consumers and converting them into (potential) customers

- accurately assesses - in real time - which advertisement (or choice of media) is working, and which is not, allowing brand advertising teams to make adjustments 'on the fly' if required.

FOR CONSUMERS, Minfo …

- helps improve people's mobile purchasing experience

- provides instant gratification by making it as simple as possible for them to interact with broadcast media ads and, importantly, take action

- gives people the ability to share purchases, ideas and information with their personal networks via social media.

HOW IT WORKS:

Businesses and organisations sign up to Minfo and create a campaign (if you can set up a Facebook account, you can use Minfo - it's that easy).

At the heart of the campaign are Minfo-enabled advertisements – these can be TV commercials, radio or print media ads. Minfo digitises these ads to fit with the advertiser's call to action; for broadcast ads, this means embedding a 'silent' audio signal that can't be heard by humans (or dogs!) but will register with an activated Minfo app. For example:

- A car company runs a Minfo-enabled (branded) commercial on TV; if people want to book a test drive, all they need to do is touch the Minfo app – it will open up and they can make the booking right then and there, on their smartphone or tablet device.

- Minfo-enabled ads on radio work in a similar way; again, the ads will be embedded with a unique audio signal that will register with an opened Minfo mobile app. If a person listening uses an iPhone and are driving a car when the ad goes to air, they can activate Minfo by instructing Siri via voice command. Say the ad that comes on is about a new government initiative, consumers will be able to request further information with the simple touch of a button or voice command. They will also have the ability to share via their social networks should they wish to do so, all from the Minfo app.

- With print media, the humble QR code is incorporated in the print advertisement. For example, say a restaurant advertises in a free urban lifestyle publication - consumers can simply scan the code using Minfo and make a booking from within the app without having to negotiate the restaurant's website.

Minfo can also work in designated retail and event/expo zones.

For example: A major fashion brand may set up a designated Minfo (branded) zone within their stores; once the customer is within a certain vicinity of the zone (7-10m), they'll be able to use the Minfo app on their smartphone to access special deals, even purchase goods directly – without ever having to go to the front counter to pay!

An example for events and expos: Nametags can be shared using Minfo to save business cards. Minfo creates contact cards for smartphones and email systems.

Minfo provides multiple benefits for nonprofit organisations.

For example, Minfo can support fundraising event registrations, drive more people to them and ensure audiences see news outside of their busy email inboxes, as well as have the ability to share it on social media.

Minfo can run auctions (also for supporters, who can't attend events to participate) and manage donations. From Minfo combining software, and provided a fee free service for nonprofits, they can save huge administration costs.

This is in addition to donations from paid campaigns. How this works is that 10 percent of every paid advertising campaign is donated to nonprofits. The consumer/user determines which nonprofits benefits by choosing a Minfo Affiliate when they register and whenever they click on a revenue generating button paid by advertisers the nonprofit will receive the donation aggregated on a quarterly basis.

FEATURES (in summary):

Minfo is a mobile information platform delivered via a free multi-purpose smartphone app; users opt in to advertising campaigns, they are not on the receiving end of unwanted 'push' messaging.

Minfo extends the reach of multimedia campaigns by enabling customer engagement, interaction and mobile transactions.

Supports marketers and event managers with ticket transactions and registrations.

Minfo messages / campaigns (Minfo Pages) are easily created in minutes using 'cut and paste' and data uploads (no IT expertise required) - they can be as simple or as sophisticated as you need. Minfo Pages can interface with all other media ads (TV, radio, print, online e.g. YouTube video).

Minfo provides detailed response data, meaning campaigns ensuring high levels of accountability in real time, thus greatly assist organisations to track and improve their marketing ROI.

BUSINESS MODEL

Minfo generates revenue via micro-payments – advertisers only pay if consumers interact with their campaign (pay per click from 5 to 50 cents).

The platform is initially free to use for all businesses from launch 14 July until 14 January, then the performance-based pricing model will come into play.

Minfo will always be free for nonprofit organisations.

Nonprofit supporters who download Minfo and use the app on commercial advertising campaigns (paid by Minfo brand clients) will be helping to generate funds for the chosen nonprofit, e.g. 10 percent of revenue will be donated on their behalf by Minfo.

Minfo is a perfect vehicle to disseminate information in the case of emergency response; the principals of Minfo have offered the service to government free of charge.

For interview and picture opportunities, please contact:

- Alex Lowen on 0438 726 533 or email Alex@AttentionNOW.com.au
- Helen Reizer on 0412 684 431 or email HelenR@hrpr.com.au

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