Twitter’s acquisition of mobile supply-side platform MoPub this week could pave the way for more activity and something close to standard business models in the nascent mobile exchange space. Established desktop exchange players like the Rubicon Project and PubMatic, which have expansive networks on the sell side, have struggled to retrofit their existing platforms to […]
Digital ad veteran Brian McAndrews has been named chairman, president and CEO of streaming music service Pandora. He replaced Joe Kennedy, who announced his intention to retire in March. (Read the release.) McAndrews built one of the first digital agency networks at aQuantive, where beginning in 1999 he began rolling up firms including Razorfish, Avenue […]
Despite the recent flurry of mobile acquisitions, marketers are still somewhat in the dark when it comes to defining objectives for their mobile campaigns and deploying analytics tools to help them measure cross-channel reach, one study suggests. In a survey of agencies, vendors and 228 marketing professionals, the study by Forrester Research determined that 37% […]
Twitter’s acquisition of mobile ad exchange MoPub came within two weeks of its acquisition of social TV analytics Trendrr and the wide release of lead-generation cards. These staccato moves, according to one Twitter Ads API partner company, are exactly what Twitter needs to counter Facebook’s aggressive pipeline of ad products. “They’re doing a nice job […]
Twitter’s acquisition of mobile ad exchange MoPub adds a new layer to its strategy. In addition to selling native ad units, Twitter will become a seller of standardized mobile ads as well — perhaps with its own user data thrown into the mix. “Buying MoPub reclassifies Twitter beyond a social platform, or even a broadcast […]
Buying MoPub does a few things for Twitter, potentially. It adds $100 million in 2013 revenue to Twitter’s income statement in the months leading up to a probable IPO. It creates an opportunity to monetize Twitter’s valuable data “off-platform” through an internally run mobile exchange. This could work by creating BlueKai-like data segments that would […]
Twitter has acquired MoPub, which provides ad management services to thousands of mobile publishers. The move gives Twitter considerable advertising reach in mobile, including real-time bidding inventory through MoPub’s Marketplace mobile ad exchange. Kevin Weil, Twitter’s VP of Product for Revenue, wrote in a blog post: “The two major trends in the ad world right […]
Amobee, a mobile advertising company that was acquired by Singapore-based telecom SingTel last year, has bought Gradient X, a Los Angeles-based startup that offers a real-time bidding platform for mobile ads. Gradient X will provide Amobee with a real-time bidding functionality for various ad channels and formats, such as video and HTML5, as well as […]
Under two separate deals that took place this week, Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and Vodafone took steps that speak to the companies’ expectations for the smartphone market and the telecom industry as a whole. Microsoft’s decision to acquire Nokia’s devices and services division could help it shore up its place in the smartphone ecosystem while Verizon […]
With its 6.3-inch screen, it is easy to mistake the new Samsung Galaxy Mega smartphone for a tablet. It isn’t even the largest smartphone — the Sony Xperia Z Ultra has a 6.4-inch screen. As the gap between smartphones and tablets shrinks, combined with the growing hype around wearable devices, the demand for tablets is […]
Relying on ads to monetize a kids’ mobile app comes with a minefield of rules and restrictions. Apple, for example, requires app developers to avoid any behavioral advertising, ask for parental permission for in-app purchases and include a privacy policy. Developers also must get parental consent before collecting personal information like phone numbers and email […]
Google is leading the charge on mobile ad revenues, but Facebook is closing the gap. The two companies’ jointly control nearly 70% of mobile ad revenue, according to new estimates from EMarketer. Google owns more than 53% of mobile ad market share, to Facebook’s 16% — placing both well ahead of players like Pandora, YP, […]
The rapid adoption of tablets and smartphones has not been matched with equal intensity by the number of digital sales transactions occurring on those devices, but that divide is beginning to close. In the first half of 2013, m-commerce transactions totaled $10.6 billion in sales, which represents close to 10% of the total digital commerce […]
In a new report, Forrester Research senior analyst Joanna O’Connell identified the pros and cons of three of the most common techniques for targeting consumers across platforms: cookie-based targeting, person-based targeting and inference-based targeting. In terms of cookies, O’Connell noted that the usefulness of the third-party cookie is “finally showing signs of strain … in […]
LifeStreet, an in-app advertising platform that claims to have more than 3,500 Facebook developers using its product, is going after a bigger slice of mobile with its new self-service publisher portal. The portal, which was launched today, is an extension of the company’s current portal that is used by Facebook app developers to publish display […]
Mobile advertisers must get better at understanding their customers or risk repeating the mistakes made in traditional display advertising, according to panelists at Neo@Ogilvy’s client event, Mobile Day, which took place yesterday in New York City. “The challenge for many brands is that the user experience breaks down when consumers go from one device to […]
Location data is often touted as the key to unlocking the targeting opportunities in mobile ads. How to best leverage location data varies by company, however. For JiWire—a 10-year-old firm that started out as a Wi-Fi hotspot provider—the answer lies in layering data over customized audience segments. AdExchanger talked to JiWire President David Staas. AdExchanger: […]
There’s no doubt that every new smartphone app is up against some tough competition—whether it’s competing against thousands of other apps or vying for attention once it’s been downloaded. When it comes to marketing mobile phone apps, certain strategies, like in-app advertising, generally encourage more app downloads, according to new data from mobile media company […]
With the mobile app market growing more competitive every day, app developers are under increasing pressure to find people who will not only download their games, but remain engaged players. Advertising and mobile analytics firm Apsalar is trying to address this need in a number of ways. In addition to offering a mobile analytics platform […]
In the wake of Millennial Media’s agreement to buy Jumptap, AdExchanger spoke with Mollie Spilman, EVP of global sales and marketing at Millennial, who shed some light on the company’s plans and its approach to mobile advertising. Spilman was previously CMO at Yahoo. AdExchanger: How will Millennial be able to stay “best in class” while trying […]
Tying mobile ad impressions to in-store visits is critical for advertisers looking to measure the value of their ads. Location analytics company Placed is approaching the challenge with a new product called Placed Attribution, that provides metrics around the number of people who saw an ad on their smartphone and then visited the advertiser’s store. […]
Millennial Media’s acquisition of competitor Jumptap has shed new light on the mobile arena. Despite being the country’s second-largest provider of mobile display advertising, behind Google, Millennial has struggled to recapture the momentum it enjoyed when it went public last year. The $193 million acquisition will inject new vitality into the Baltimore-based company, claimed Millennial CEO […]
One big old mobile ad network is set to acquire another. Publicly-traded Millennial Media announced an agreement to buy Boston-based Jumptap for a combination of tech and stock. Read the release. While Jumptap’s roots are in a traditional publisher network model, Millennial called Jumptap a “programmatic and mobile-first” platform. According to Millennial CEO Paul Palmieri, Jumptap’s strategic benefits […]
As the mobile ad market grows, so do the stakes for providing contextually relevant ads. Geo-targeted ads on mobile devices are getting a boost from companies like Google, Foursquare and Twitter, which are in various stages of rolling out new ad units that leverage location data. In a blog post yesterday, Google announced ads will […]
Based on a survey of more than 5,000 people in Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US, Forrester Research predicts 905 million people, up from 15 million in 2010, will be using tablets by 2017. Tablets, write Forrester analysts JP Gownder and Michael O’Grady, have “exceeded the status of mass market to become what […]
Voltari, a public mobile marketing and data analytics firm backed by Icahn Enterprises, is the latest reincarnation of a company that started off providing software and content for mobile devices in 2001. The New York City-based company recently expanded its operations in Canada and is eyeing opportunities in the UK. AdExchanger spoke with Voltari CEO […]
Finding effective ways to target mobile users with relevant ads continues to be a critical challenge for advertisers. While no one has cracked the code yet, Qriously, which bills itself as an “opinion startup,” is approaching the problem with a modern twist on surveys. The startup sends in-app questions to smartphone users, and based on […]
Foursquare, the platform that perfected the art of the “check-in,” has set its sights on the small-business advertiser. Not a stranger to the phrase “monetization,” sitting on 35 million users’ worth of locally relevant, location-based user data has led Foursquare to explore various avenues to boost ad revenue among the 1.4 million small businesses that […]
Augmented reality today consists mainly of superimposed images, but companies are already envisioning a world where AR technology is an extension of our daily activities. While all eyes are on Google Glass, Blippar, a 2-year-old company based in London, has quietly helped brands like Heinz, Budweiser and Cadbury launch AR-based campaigns and claims to have […]
As mobile usage continues to skyrocket, geo-targeted ads have grown even more compelling for advertisers. Maponics, a 12-year-old location-based data provider that works with Twitter and JiWire, approaches location-based ads with an emphasis on context. AdExchanger spoke with Maponics CEO Darrin Clement. AdExchanger: Where does Maponics fit in the ad ecosystem? DARRIN CLEMENT: Our basic […]
