Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
More Mobile Ad Network Money
The ad network is not dead. Not even close. The red hot mobile ad network business – at least VC love it! – has seen yet-another-funding-event as Jumptap announced the closing of a $25 million round of financing with existing investors “AllianceBernstein, General Catalyst, Summerhill Ventures, Valhalla Partners and WPP, and led by Redpoint Ventures,” according to the release, which isn’t specific on how the fund will be used beyond general declarations about driving growth, product etc. Given some of the earlier exits by AdMob (Google) and Quattro (Apple), it would appear mobile ad networks are awaiting the second wave of exits (or IPO) as mobile continues to accelerate while slightly hamstrung by personal data complications and restrictions. Read more.
Facebook “Display”
On his personal blog, product guy and auteur Ari Paparo lets go with a POV on Facebook display ads and recent news about their proliferation. He writes, “1. Facebook isn’t ‘display’ in the sense everyone in the marketplace thinks about display as a meaningful market, so calculating market share doesn’t make sense; and 2. Using impressions as a proxy for any measure of market success is absurd.” 3. Read it. DIGIDAY’s Brian Morrissey follows the post and points out that Facebook should be on-guard, as MySpace was in the same display leadership position a few years ago. Read more from Morrissey.
Rich Media, Rich Press
Echoing the performance of expandable rich media ads, aptly-named press release launchpad, PR Newswire, offered results of a new study that shows when you have more “multimedia content” in your press release, you get better performance. Pundits note that this is similar to when you have more “Charms” in your bowl of “Lucky Charms” cereal – you get luckier. A sample insight from the study’s press release: “Multimedia content is more broadly distributed – because each element of a multimedia release is distributed separately, and can attract its own audience – in social networks, and on search engines. Videos, for example, are distributed to more than 70 video-specific portals.” The PR Newswire folks coin this “Visual PR.” Visualize now!
It may not be ads, but the themes are similar as Peter Kim provides a compelling POV about when “signal” may confuse the real opportunity for yield. He sees consumer control and the consumer voice in social media as a potential fail whale. For an example, he points to a recent decision by Alaska Airlines to discontinue the so-called “nerd bird” route between San Jose, CA, and Austin, TX, and the passenger uproar that followed. (Airlines are always popular in yield discussions!) He concludes, “Organizations must have process and policy in place to deal with detractors (individuals and groups) rather than using a blanket approach based on the wisdom of the crowd – or lack thereof. And confidence that control is best shared in carefully measured cases.” Read more.
DoubleClick Ad Exchange Accepting Intermediaries?
From his Traffick blog, Andrew Goodman reports from Google’s “Ad Academy” session in Toronto, Canada. He quotes Google Canada Country Manager Chris O’Neill who noted the disparity in adoption rates between search and display: “There are 1.5 million search advertisers but only 100,000 display advertisers.” Also according to Goodman, “Google’s Jess Olsen soft-announced that Google’s pipeline includes a future capability to include display ad buys through other ad exchanges, not just DoubleClick’s.” Well, well, well, what’s that? Will Google allow access to the AdMeld, PubMatic and Rubicon Project’s of the world? Right Media Exchange, too? Intermediaries with direct relationships with supply may be “back.” Read more.
Local Mobile Ads, FTW!
Millennial Media has packaged and published results from its mobile ad network in Q1 in the form of its latest SMART report. The location-based promise of mobile appears to be rearing its monetizeable head as Millennial says, “Local market targeting grew 24% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 and represented 42% of all campaigns targeting a specific audience. These were campaigns that allowed advertisers to customize their message to local markets.” Read more on the Millennial blog. And, download the Q1 report (PDF).
Measuring Mobile Ads
Seems to be some buzz out there for the need to improve mobile ad measurement. Mobile measurement company Nielsen Catalina and mobile ad network 4Info announced they’ll give it a try with a new solution. According to Mobile Marketer’s Chantal Tode, the Nielsen/4Info tech will “link purchase data with mobile viewing data so CPG brands can better understand how well mobile ad campaigns are driving buying behavior.” The marketer says, “Show me the results!” Read more.
Efficient Frontier Spent $50 Million
When Efficient Frontier announced its purchase of social ad management company Context Optional, Kara Swisher of All Things D said her sources told her that the deal went down for $50 million. Read more. And, read the Efficient Frontier interview with AdExchanger.com here.
What Is An Upfront?
Ahh, the TV upfront. (ripple dissolve) Every digital sellers dream as they get to sell for one week each year, and the rest of the time, collect a commission. (crashing end to ripple dissolve) Dream on, digital seller, as Jason Krebs and Amy Aurbach lay waste to the archaic vehicle for matching ad dollars to media. Krebs describes the upfronts thusly, “A 3-hour media bacchanal hosted by TV executives to dazzle media buyers with gourmet pigs-in-blankets and visits from celebrities.” Read all about the cocktail weenies.
WikiLeaks For Ad Tech?
Mainstream media is likin’ the looks of the WikiLeaks model as The Wall Street Journal managing editor Kevin Delaney claims his publication is offering its own “Leaks” version complete with secure connections, file encryption and much more! The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal covers the news on the news, “The Wall Street Journal has unveiled SafeHouse, a secure uploading system for sending ‘newsworthy contracts, correspondence, emails, financial records or databases’…” Read all about it. And, start uploading now.
“Honey… Silicon Valley At The Door”
On his personal blog, Adam Wohl, a group creative director for mobile consultancy Mir, shares a recent presentation he made to college students in Virginia where he discussed the future of the agency model among other topics. He sees Silicon Valley on Madison Avenue’s doorstep: “Only time will tell if I’m even remotely prophetic and how agencies (and mobile technology) will evolve and flourish, or fail and be replaced by whatever’s next. (…) The lines between what we do and what many in Silicon Valley now do have blurred tremendously.” Read more. (source: @marciikeler)
Contextual Ad Match Boner Of The Day
See it now courtesy of John Battelle’s Searchblog!
But Wait. There’s More!
- Judy McGrath Leaving MTV Networks; The Memo – PaidContent
- Three Reasons to End the Digital Revolution – Tom Cunniff, MediaBizBloggers.com
- Latest comScore report highlights Tribal Fusion as third largest advertising network worldwide – Tribal Fusion
- V12 Group And Brilig Announce New Partnership – V12 Group
