Viewability Reviewed; Apple Eeks Out $12 Billion Profit; Ad Networks Add Publishers

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

When Spraying, Praying

Putting the pedal to the metal in regards to the viewable impression, comScore has partnered with Pretarget on a new study which shows viewability matters, and other stuff, not so much. Audience buyers via RTB might be more discerning but for those looking for reach via “spray and pray,” the press release warns the naughty planner: “The results showed that ad hover/interaction (correlation = 0.49) and viewable impressions (correlation = 0.35) had highest correlation with conversion, while gross impressions (correlation = 0.17) was significantly lower. Perhaps most interestingly, clicks (correlation = 0.01) had the lowest correlation with conversion, far under-performing all other metrics analyzed in the study.” Conversions were defined as purchases and requests for information. It would be interesting to see this study with brand awareness goals -and then compare DR to brand and relate it to ROI in both instances. Read more. I can dream, can’t I?

What’s The Weather?

On Digiday, Josh Sternberg explores the strategy of The Weather Channel with CEO David Kenny and others. Kenny says that mobile and connected TV are key channels and adds, “Increasingly, we see how our platform connects to other people’s platforms. Other folk who build local that want to do things beside us can connect mobile app and browser experience.” The content OS connects to the advertising OS. Read more.

Mobile Geo-Trends

Singapore-based mobile ad network BuzzCity has released a report on Q1 2012 geographic trends its seeing across its network which focuses on APAC, Asia and Africa. The company claims that Indian traffic has been on the rise given the growth of the smartphone. Also from its report: “After a couple of years of fluctuating growth, Nigeria caught up with South Africa and Kenya in March 2011 as a key mobile internet market in Africa. In Q1 2012 Nigerian traffic grew by another 85%.” Read more from the BuzzCity blog. And, download the report (PDF).

The Golden Apple

Apple reported its earnings yesterday and it was nearly 2x what Wall Street was expecting (WSJ – subscription). From the release, “The Company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share.” Read the release. And, read the transcript. Apple does not need ads.

DOOH + Mobile

Mobile shopping platform Bee Media says it has acquired digital-out-of-home (DOOH) ad network Adcentricity (AdExchanger Q&A 2010). Terms were not disclosed. Nevertheless, I call… “Trend!” Mobile ad firms are buying (or will buy) out-of-home networks and create a unique value proposition for marketers that merges online/offline. Write it down! And, exhale. Now, get some stats from Kantar which says DOOH spend grew 14% last year.

Buy Me A River

Travora, formerly known as Travel Ad Network, has (re-)caught the acquisition bug and bought a site called NileGuide as it looks to grow out its vertical offering. Tnooz’s Dennis Schaal asks rhetorically, “So why would an ad network want to buy a travel content company?” Trend! Ad networks can use their digital ad tech know-how and relationships on the buy (spend) and sell-side (scale) to better monetize certain publishers – especially those unable to support an effective, full-time sales force. Schaal answers his own question, too. Read it. And, read the release. This is another story similar to Glam Media and Alloy Digital: specialize in an audience – could be a demo, could be a vertical, could be both.

Banners And Social

Banners for portals: Yes… and banners for social: No. That is the the conclusion by Universal McCann APAC Digital chief Yean Cheong. She writes in Campaign Asia, “In a traditional online publisher portal environment, while it is seen as a one-way online publication with limited social features or functionalities, it still plays a pivotal role in carrying advertising messages. Consumers in these online environments are more receptive to advertising. Banner ads were born in these environments, which meant that consumers are more tolerant of advertising in these environments than in social networks such as Facebook.” Sure sure, Facebook may not have banners (except for apps – a big exception), but it does have display. So, where does Facebook’s purchase of Instagram fit in display? It doesn’t. And, that’s ok.

Infographic Wednesday

On the IBM Netezza blog, Analyzing Media, a big graphic on big data. Take the big data plunge!

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