Technology

Twitter buys ZipDial in bid for users in emerging markets

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter said Tuesday that it plans to buy Indian mobile marketing company ZipDial as it tries to reach new users in developing regions. Th...

The Associated Press

January 20, 2015 11:50 pm

1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter said Tuesday that it plans to buy Indian mobile marketing company ZipDial as it tries to reach new users in developing regions.

The San Francisco company did not disclose financial details or when it expects the deal to close.

ZipDial connects brands with consumers in emerging markets where mobile data is expensive and Wi-Fi connections are limited. With ZipDial, consumers bypass data charges. They call a unique phone number, hang up and ZipDial sends them free texts or voicemails with sports scores, coupons or other content and information.

Calling and hanging up is also a way to follow users of Twitter. A phone number can be assigned to politicians or celebrities, for example, and users automatically receive tweets through texts instead of going to Twitter’s website or app. Phone numbers can be printed on billboards, newspaper ads or TV commercials. Founded in 2010, ZipDial has created campaigns for beverage maker PepsiCo and toy maker Mattel Inc., according to its website.

At the end of June, Twitter had 271 million average monthly users. The company said the acquisition will give people access to its service in Brazil, India, Indonesia and other countries where people are going online for the first time.

Shares of Twitter Inc. rose 72 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $38.03 in afternoon trading Tuesday.