MOL to Invest US$2M to Drive Monetizaton of Social and Gaming Applications in Asia
The year-long online and on-the-ground campaign is designed to drive online users in Asia to install and use MOLPoints as the intermediary currency for social and gaming applications. The campaign will highlight how easy it is to sign up for MOLPoints and top up through the range of MOL’s extensive network of physical channels across Asia. As part of this campaign, MOL plans to sign-up new physical channels, media partners as well as application developers.
MOLPoints is already a popular virtual currency among online users in Asia. People buy MOLPoints using real money, through a wide variety of local and international banks, mobile providers and even pre-paid cards at various physical retail outlets such as 7-Elevens, cybercafes and bookstores in this region. MOLPoints can then be used to purchase a variety of other online content and services, including online game subscriptions and popular online gift cards without the use of a credit card, opening up online purchases to a whole new market across Asia.
The campaign follows the announcement that MOL made in July this year—that Facebook users in Asia can now use MOL payment options at www.facebook.com/MOLPoints to buy Facebook Credits.
Facebook Credits are a virtual currency for Facebook users to buy virtual goods in many games and applications on the Facebook platform. Popular games such as Farmville, Frontierville, Millionaire City, Hotel City, Petville, Bejeweled Blitz, and hundreds other games and applications are already accepting Facebook Credits. There are over 200 million unique Facebook users playing games each month. Now these social gamers can acquire Facebook Credits by converting their MOLPoints to Credits. Purchase of MOLPoints for Facebook Credits has more benefits including cost-savings and loyalty points.
The campaign will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2010 and targeted at online users in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. MOL is planning to include the new tab on MOL’s fanpage at www.facebook.com/mollife that will provide marketing updates, media industry chatter, company news and a direct connection to install MOLPoints apps which can then be used to reload Facebook Credits.
MOL payment systems makes it easier for Facebook users in Asia to purchase Facebook Credits and at the same time helps application and games developers to find new sources of revenue.
“Consumers are increasingly shopping online and therefore needing virtual currency. MOLPoints presents significant opportunities for application and game developers to monetise their services in Asia,” said Ganesh Kumar Bangah, group chief executive officer for MOL Global. “More than half of this new investment will be pumped into Facebook ad campaigns. This is just the beginning of an aggressive campaign and certainly a bold statement to show that MOL is committed to helping Facebook truly monetise Asia.”
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About MOL Global (www.molglobal.net)
MOL Global is the parent company of payment service provider, MOL AccessPortal Berhad (MOL) and the world’s pioneer social network, Friendster Inc. (Friendster) with 115 million members worldwide.
Through its ownership of MOL and Friendster, MOL Global is Asia’s largest end-to-end content, distribution and commerce network, pairing MOL’s physical payment collection points and payment platform with Friendster’s large online footprint, social network and user community in Asia.
MOL is a MSC Malaysia Status Company that operates and develops payment systems incorporated in 2000. MOL handles over 60 million transactions with an annual payment volume of USD200 million. MOL leverages on a network of more than 540,000 physical payment collection points across more than 75 countries. It is also linked online to 88 banks in 9 countries worldwide. MOL was recognized twice in the last five years as one of Asia Pacific’s fastest growing technology companies in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Award. The company also won a Merit Award for the Best of E-Commerce Applications in the MSC Asia Pacific ICT Awards and received the Member Excellence Award at the 2009 ICT Leadership Awards of the National ICT Association of Malaysia.
MOL is a trademark of MOL AccessPortal Bhd in Malaysia.
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