Dada USA, a New York-based subsidiary of Italy's Dada S.p.A, announced the official launch of its social networking and entertainment community for the U.S. market, with product suites spanning the mobile and online worlds.
The company says the development and completion of its U.S. Website, dada.net, enables users to subscribe to a variety of value-added services that include a mix of personal blogging, profile matching services, text messaging, ringtones, mobile gaming and wallpaper.
Dada USA sells a $9.99 monthly subscription service now available on major U.S. carriers and many second-tier operators, according to Todd Kelly, general manager of Dada USA.
News Corp's joint venture with VeriSign on Jamba, which will combine MySpace mobile services, is a validation of the Dada model, Kelly says. While the online and mobile social networking aspects are being integrated at Jamba, "we're already there," he says.
Dada's U.S. presence got a boost when the parent company bought New York-based Upoc Networks in August. Founded in 1999, Upoc provisions consumer entertainment and community services, accessible via SMS, WAP, voice, MMS, BREW and the Web via its own brand. At the time, Dada said Upoc's established social community complements Dada USA's profile matching, community and mobile entertainment suites.
Brands in the Dada group include Love.dada.net, which is a matchmaking arm; Mobi.dada.net, which consists of a range of services for mobile phone personalization and entertainment; and Life.dada.net, a space for users to express themselves and share writings, photos, video and chat via PC and mobile phones.
In the first six months of 2006, parent company Dada Group recorded consolidated sales of about $62 million, an increase of 63 percent compared with the same period a year ago.