Vibes Media Acquires Mobile Advertising Startup Zeep Mobile

Vibes Media, a company that creates text message marketing campaigns, has acquired self-service mobile advertising startup Zeep Mobile. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Zeep Mobile provides a free API that allows any website and publishers to send and receive text messages to and from its visitors. There are no volume restrictions on sending messages and the service is free to use.

Vibes Media creates mobile marketing campaigns via SMS for clients. The Chicago-based company, which raised $15 million in funding from Fidelity Ventures, is one of the largest licensors of short codes in the United States. Vibes’ customer bases includes CBS, Tribune, Best Buy, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, Accuweather and Gray Television. Zeep Mobile’s technology will be folded into Vibes’ platform.

Jack Philbin, CEO and founder of Vibes Media, tells me the company has grown by 300 percent over the past year. He says that text message campaigns are interactive, and lead to success because the campaigns are a two way experience that can be used by any phone, even non-smartphones. We recently wrote about Placecast, a mobile marketing company that is using SMS technology to help retailers attract customers.