Kansas City-based company infuses an increased entrepreneurial spirit while adding an experienced advertising team, proprietary ad platform and top-rated mobile apps
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Having built solid relationships with Kansas City startups to spur growth and establish the area as a hub for entrepreneurism and innovation, Sprint (NYSE:S) announced that it has acquired Kansas City-based Handmark Inc. and its subsidiary OneLouder Apps Inc., a leading mobile app developer and advertising company. The combined teams will further enhance Sprint’s Pinsight Media+TM advertising service with an increased entrepreneurial spirit and capabilities to drive tremendous benefits for brands, app developers and consumers.
“The business, culture and technology they bring will be a huge asset to our business, and ultimately the customers of Pinsight Media+.”
“Bringing the capabilities of Handmark and OneLouder in-house is an exciting move as we position Sprint for market leadership in emerging mobile products and services,” said Mike Cooley, vice president – New Ventures at Sprint. “The business, culture and technology they bring will be a huge asset to our business, and ultimately the customers of Pinsight Media+.”
OneLouder immediately infuses Pinsight Media+ with an experienced advertising team, a sophisticated ad platform and top-rated mobile apps that serve millions of customers each day. OneLouder’s leading apps and technology platform, combined with Sprint’s large customer base and targeting capabilities, will enhance both companies’ abilities to connect brands with relevant audiences.
“As a long-time partner of Sprint, we’ve worked together on some of the mobile industry’s most successful initiatives,” said Augie Grasis, Handmark founder and CEO. “Joining forces is a natural progression to our relationship and will help scale our mobile media business, resulting in tremendous value for Sprint and OneLouder customers.”
Handmark and OneLouder will continue to operate under their current brand names, led by Evan Conway, president of OneLouder. Grasis will join a new advisory board that is being established by Sprint to provide direction to Handmark and OneLouder. Handmark and OneLounder plan to remain in the same downtown Kansas City location with all current employees.
“Handmark/OneLouder is a good example of entrepreneurialism in Kansas City,” said Kevin McGinnis, vice president – Product Platforms and Services at Sprint. “Handmark focused on changing with the times, pivoting their business like a true entrepreneur with OneLouder and becoming attractive to Sprint, among others. We are actively engaged in the entrepreneurial community to promote growth and innovation in many areas of business.”
Pinsight Media+ is quickly moving to create a robust advertising ecosystem for advertisers. Recently, Sprint and Time Inc. unveiled a Mobile Content, Advertising and Retail alliance. In February, Sprint announced that it joined with Telefónica to discuss collaboration on creating one of the largest mobile advertising alliances in the world, potentially reaching more than 370 million mobile customers across the United States, Europe and Latin America with targeted advertising.
About Pinsight Media+
Pinsight Media+ offers the latest in unparalleled targeting, unique campaign placements, and insightful analytics. With Pinsight Media+, advertisers have the power to reach consumers on their mobile device in a more personalized way through relevant advertisements that are designed to drive substantial value for brands, advertisers and publishers.
For more information, please visit www.pinsightmedia.com.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the reach of global networking and freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint served more than 55 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2013 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in both its 2011 and 2012 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint andwww.twitter.com/sprint.
