Velti has closed a $27m (£17m), 2-year deal to provide its mobile marketing technology to “a major US brand”. The program is expected to break in the next few weeks, and is designed to drive increased engagement with the brand’s existing customers, with the aim of increasing loyalty.

“This deal is emblematic of the significant traction we are seeing in the US, the single largest country for us in terms of revenues,” said Velti CEO, Alex Moukas. “There is a massive opportunity for brands to engage with existing customers and build lifelong relationships. Using data to predict and optimize engagement is a vital step in executing the right strategy. Our work with this brand is a perfect example of a brand using Velti mobile technology to manage the lifecycle of its existing customer base.”

Moukas adds that the deal also highlights Velti’s focus on cash generation, with net-30 payment days and monthly reconciliation and invoicing. Last month, the company announced Q2 2012 revenues of $58.7m, a 71 per cent increase over Q2 2011.

David Murphy writes:
Respect to Velti on two fronts. Firstly for pulling off one of the bigger mobile marketing deals in the industry’s short history. Secondly, for shouting about it, and in particular, about the size of the deal. Companies like Velti who have been in the game for a long time have had to be patient while mobile budgets have increased incrementally year-on-year. Perhaps this deal is a sign that mobile is moving from incremental to exponential growth, as Russell Buckley has been saying for some time now. If so, it’s great news for everyone. This certainly won’t be the last deal of this magnitude. While Velti isn’t revealing the name of the brand it’s working with, you can be fairly confident that this is not its first dip in the mobile marketing waters. It’s likely to be a brand that has trialled mobile, with appropriately modest budgets, found that it works, and given it the green light. There are many more brands in exactly the same position. Let the good times – hopefully – roll.