Nominum launches applications to power in-browser marketing and communication channel for CSPs

Barcelona, Spain – Mobile World Congress – February 25, 2014  ̶  Nominum^TM, the innovation leader in DNS and Internet Activity applications for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), today announced the launch of its N2 Applications for marketing and customer care. The suite comprises: N2 Care, for engaging with and retaining subscribers, N2 Engage, aimed at delivering safe and personalized Internet experiences, and N2 Promote, for developing upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

Marketing teams can deliver highly effective and measurable campaigns, while customer care teams can interact with customers via in-browser messaging. This innovation, an extension of Nominum’s core N2 platform, leverages Internet Activity sourced from the DNS (Domain Name System), an underutilized resource that already exists at all CSPs.

CSPs, including fixed, mobile and converged telecommunications operators, spend more than $150B annually in marketing and customer care. Traditional marketing channels – direct marketing, telemarketing, email, SMS, advertising – are expensive, with limited interactivity and measurability. In contrast, the in-browser messaging capabilities of Nominum’s N2 applications enable CSPs to reach customers, at minimal cost, in real-time. Customers can interact with CSPs by responding to opt in in-browser notifications or offers. CSP marketing teams in turn receive comprehensive real-time metrics to enhance campaigns and deliver a more efficient marketing and communications channel.

Mobile operators that deploy free public Wi-Fi to offload traffic from their networks can use N2 applications to increase ARPU through targeted offers and advertising via in-browser messages and videos to Wi-Fi customers.

Gary Messiana, CEO, Nominum, said: “We already enable global CSPs to deliver a reliable and secure Internet experience to their subscribers. Today, we are taking DNS to a completely new level by leveraging those same assets to help marketing and customer care teams address their retention, loyalty and ARPU needs.”

Sanjay Kapoor, SVP Business Strategy and CMO, Nominum, said: “The N2 Applications open an entirely new marketing and communication channel for CSPs. We are an innovation leader in DNS and this new interactive in-browser channel enables CSPs to deliver interactive real-time and highly effective campaigns that are truly measurable.”

Marcelo Baletti, Chief of Digital Services, at Nominum customer Cablevision Argentina, said: “The adoption of in-browser messaging is already having a positive impact on our business. The system has been implemented to improve traditional methods of marketing and CRM such as direct mail and telemarketing. The targeted in-browser messaging that is linked to DNS data has resulted in a 11% increase in our retention rate. This process has enabled us to reduce our subscriber acquisition costs, increase retention rates and drive increased revenue by effectively increasing the average life of the customer.”

Nominum has collaborated on N2 Engage with industry partner, leading consumer security software vendor F-Secure, to provide comprehensive malware protection to consumers. “Nominum’s in-browser messaging provides an alternative and more efficient method for CSPs to communicate with their subscribers. For our business, that means CSPs can message interested subscribers about our network and client security offerings improving customer satisfaction and reducing call volumes attributed to security-related issues,” stated Pekka Mettala, F-Secure’s VP Operator Channel Development.

Clare McCarthy, Practice Leader for Ovum’s Telco Operations research, explained: “CSPs acknowledge that network and subscriber data are key assets that will help them to generate sustainable business value. CSPs need loyal customers and that loyalty comes through engagement and trust. Proactive and personalized interactions – such as those provided by Nominum’s in-browser messaging – make that journey easier, and leveraging existing DNS infrastructure seems a logical place to start.”

About Nominum

Nominum is the innovation leader in DNS software and Internet Activity Applications. The company’s Vantio™ CacheServe software powers the internet for the world’s largest CSPs in 40 countries. Vantio™ ThreatAvert software arms CSPs with the power to stop the spread of inside threats that could impact network availability and reputation. Nominum’s N2 applications enable CSP’s marketing and customer care teams to leverage subscribers’ Internet Activity to better engage, build brand loyalty, improve marketing ROI, and open up new business models. Nominum is a global organization headquartered in Redwood City, CA.

Notes to editors:

The N2 Applications launching to coincide with 2014 Mobile World Congress include:

N2 Care –CSP customer care and loyalty/retention teams can leverage in-browser messaging to proactively engage with customers and improve retention. Use cases include:

·         Infected Subscriber/Malware Site Alerts

·         Interactive Customer Surveys

·         CPE Swap Messages

·         Data Usage Quota and Service Enhancement Notifications

N2 Engage – CSP Marketing teams can increase customer loyalty by protecting customers online through a secure Internet experience. Uses cases include:

·         Subscriber Safety – providing subscribers with full protection from malware download and phishing sites and real-time notification and/or blocking. The application, which includes an infected subscriber notification has already been implemented by CSPs including Telstra in Australia.

·         Personal Internet – empowering subscribers to define their personal internet experience. It provides subscriber controlled filtering of web content, personal whitelist/blacklist and  time-based controls.

N2 Promote – CSP Marketing teams can upsell and cross-sell existing CSP services via interactive in-browser messages, which can result in higher ARPU. Use cases include:

·         Upselling higher-tier broadband packages

·         Cross-selling premium video packages and network-based parental control

·         Advertising in public WiFi networks