Singapore – Singapore-based Yummi Media Group (Yummi), a digital media company specialising in the creation of premium interactive content for second screen engagement, has announced an exclusive licensing and partnership agreement with Wanda cinema chain in China, to enable the country’s growing number of cinema-goers to access movies and interactive content from its new mobile app, WeDong.
Known as ‘cinime’ outside of China, the app uses Yummi’s proprietary platform, PHONIX, which enables audiences to use their smart phones to interact and engage with content on the big screen without the need for a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Much of the US$40 million funding has gone into developing the PHONIX platform which is being rolled out globally by the company.
To date some US$40 million has been invested in the development of Yummi with funding from PT Tan, the Chairman of Falcon Energy Group, a Singapore listed oil-field company.
According to PT Tan, Chairman of Yummi Media Group, “This partnership with Wanda adds 15% of the world’s total cinema screens to Yummi’s rapidly expanding global cinema network. This is a milestone deal that not only empowers an increasingly mobile-savvy Chinese population with access to Yummi’s mobile cinema app but also welcomes Wanda, the world’s largest cinema owner, into the Yummi universe.”
In response to the growing momentum of demand for mobile-rich content in China, Alastair Simpson, CEO of Yummi Media Group, said, “Interactivity and audience engagement are at the heart of everything we do and we are applying this philosophy to the cinema sector on a global scale. We are extending the reach and effectiveness of cinema as a medium by creating an international network of strategic partnerships and achieving a critical mass of users who consider mobile as their ‘ultimate cinema companion’.
“Through WeDong/cinime and our international partnerships, we have created an added value proposition for consumers, content providers and advertisers who are all engaging in deeper relationships within the immersive environment of cinema – using the mobile device as an interactive connector before, during and after the cinema visit.”
Inking strategic partnerships worldwide
The launch of WeDong/cinime follows a series of strategic partnerships that Yummi has inked in key markets across the globe. In 2013, Yummi launched WeDong/cinime in the UK with Digital Cinema Media, and saw more than 50 brands and movies utilising the app to engage customers in highly targeted interactive campaigns via their mobile phones. Some of these brands include, BMW, Microsoft and HTC.
Yummi has also signed a strategic partnership agreement with NationalCineMedia (NCM), cinema screen advertiser in the United States, to cooperate on global interactive initiatives. Other exclusive deals completed this year include agreements with Wide Eye Media (Ireland), Shaw theatres in Singapore and WerbeWeischer in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The company is in advance stages of discussion to introduce its services to Japan after successful trials earlier this year.
Yummi plans to announce partnerships with the rest of Western Europe, India and South America, effectively extending its WeDong/cinime user network to cover a total of 75,000 screens, representing more than 75% of global cinema screen.
Commenting on Yummi’s expansion, Alastair Simpson added, “Yummi has achieved real momentum in the cinema sector – as content providers and advertisers recognise how WeDong/cinime is changing the face of the cinema-going experience.
“Although the application of WeDong/cinime is currently focused on the global cinema industry, there are broader windows of opportunity in the TV, Sporting, Live Events and Telecom sectors that represent huge commercial potential. Development in these growth sectors is currently under way.”
Under the guidance of Chairman PT Tan and the leadership of its CEO Alastair Simpson, Yummi expects to move to initial public listing either in the USA or Asia in 2016.
Yummi currently has a presence in Singapore, Beijing, Los Angeles and London.
