Following Trend, Velti Launches DIY HTML5 Tool

Mobile marketing technology provider Velti today unveiled a web-based tool allowing brands and agencies to create HTML5 mobile websites and ads using a drag and drop interface. The product, dubbed 5ml, joins a number already available in the space, including those provided by Celtra and InMobi-owned Sprout.

According to Velti, the offering should enable non-technical users at agencies and in-house brand marketers to create mobile sites and ads in minutes. As an operator of a network and exchange following its Mobclix acquisition, Velti hopes the majority of that ad creative will run across media it has sold, though the platform is available for anyone's use.

Although officially launched today, Chicago-based Draftfcb has already used the tool for a Milk Processor Education Program campaign called the "Milk Refuel Project." In a prepared statement, Patrick Moorhead, SVP, group management director of mobile platforms at the agency suggested the use of such tools could help it create mobile sites "within a matter of hours, instead of weeks."

The launch of 5ml follows a trend of self-service mobile production tools pitched at agencies. To date, mobile networks and publishers have typically handled the production process using services offered by companies such as Celtra and Sprout. As agencies and brands seek greater control over the creative process, however, they're beginning to deal with more production work themselves.

To capitalize on that trend, ad network InMobi acquired Sprout last week, and a range of mobile ad providers including Apple, Medialets, and Crisp Media have all rolled out some form of self-service creative solution to date.