Malaysian communications provider Maxis Berhad and mobile advertising firm Out There Media have launched a joint mobile advertising business in Malaysia. A key part of the new offering is ‘myDeals’, the first permission-based mobile advertising program for opt-in customers in Asia. The companies have signed up a number of well-known brands as launch partners for myDeals, including BMW, Malaysia Airlines, Colgate-Palmolive and Panasonic.

Maxis will invite its 12.7m subscribers, 6.4m of whom are mobile data users, to opt in to myDeals. Ads and offers will be delivered to users’ handsets, based on their profiles, interests and preferences. In return for agreeing to receive the ads, myDeals members will earn loyalty points that can be redeemed against Maxis products and services. myDeals will also include something called ‘Dialogue Messaging’, which gives advertisers the capability to engage their target consumers, start a meaningful dialogue with them, and better understand their needs and preferences.

myDeals is part of a wider agreement, through which Out There Media and Maxis will offer targeted SMS and MMS campaigns, as well as mobile portal advertisements through Mobucks, Out There Media’s multi-channel mobile advertising marketplace technology.

“This takes the mobile platform to the next stage of its evolution, into providing greater personalization, together with wider connection,” says Maxis’ COO, Jean-Pascal van Overbeke. “Maxis is in the business of connecting people, in a way that helps them to work better, play better and make the most of what innovation and relevant information can provide. Our strategic partnership with Out There Media introduces an advertising channel with benefits for brands and for an increasingly discerning populace, who have the right to demand that their interests and preferences be noticed and served.”

Out There Media CEO Kerstin Trikalitis describes the collaboration with Maxis as “the launch of a next-generation paradigm in mobile advertising on a global scale. She says: “We are delighted to have such important companies among our launch partners, and we are confident that the advertising community will make the most of the enormous capabilities that we are in the unique position to offer them. Together with Maxis, we are looking forward to starting a new chapter in mobile advertising in Malaysia.”