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China’s Mobile Charge: Madhouse CEO Joshua Maa Reveals the Framework and Future of the Chinese Mobile Beat

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January 5th 2007

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by Kiran Aditham  |

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Hype and generous estimates aside, it is likely inevitable that a greater influx of mobile marketing-related news will emerge in ‘07. With everyone from stalwart networks such as ABC to smaller-tier firms hopping on the mobile bandwagon to push products, the micro-screens of our on-the-go culture are undergoing a gradual transformation.

Still, because public acceptance of mobile advertising is sketchy at best here in the States, with adoption rates not quite skyrocketing despite an increase in clever campaigns, ADOTAS decided to turn its focus to a country that has an established mobile community while fast becoming our lone rival in claiming global superpower status: China. With the amalgam of technology and advertising creating a boom within our Asian counterpart, we took it upon ourselves to gain some insight by chatting with upstart company Madhouse, which bills itself as “China’s most intelligent mobile ad network.”

In doing so, we shared a lengthy email discussion with Joshua Maa (pictured), CEO of the Shanghai-based operation. With 14 years of new media, entertainment and consumer marketing experience under his belt, Maa not only was the founding CEO of Rock Mobile Corporation, China’s leading mobile music entertainment provider, but he also handled EVP duties for TOM Worldwide, which he claims is China’s largest wireless value-added service provider by revenue.

Suffice to say, Maa knows mobile. So with our increasing need to understand not only the US, but the global implications of mobile marketing and the trends affecting other major countries, Maa shed plenty of insight into not only Madhouse’s history, structure, strategy and competitive advantage, but an overview of the bustling Asian mobile market, present day and future.

Hi Joshua, please give me a little background on and overall strategy for Madhouse.

Madhouse is China’s largest and most intelligent ad network. A recognized specialist focusing exclusively on mobile media and advertising, we bring advertisers together with mobile media publishers to unleash the power of mobile media advertising.

In March 2006, Madhouse completed first-round funding of US$3.6 million led by Gobi Partners and JAFCO Asia. Headquartered in Shanghai, and with offices in Beijing and Fujian, the Madhouse team consists of over 80 professionals.

Madhouse offers three key services:
- MadSolutions: Mobile marketing solutions and campaign management services, including innovative campaigns featuring a mobile interactive messaging platform and mobile WAP site building.
- MadServing: A highly intelligent, fully-automated, in-house system that serves specially targeted ads to mobile websites and client media, and provides detailed reports on performance.
- MadNetwork: China’s largest mobile ad network that Madhouse has built for advertisers and ad agencies.