Droid Does Ads

by Mark Walsh, Nov 24, 2009, 1:31 PM

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There's been no shortage of hype and hot air surrounding the release of the Droid, from the $100 million ad campaign Verizon launched to promote the phone to the latest Apple ads firing back at Verizon's "iDon't" spots attacking the iPhone.

That's not to mention the myriad head-to-head comparisons between the Droid and the iPhone that have been posted online and whether the Motorola device will emerge as a true challenger to the smartphone crown over time. One area where the Droid already appears to be having an impact, though, is in mobile advertising.

The Droid already accounts for nearly a quarter (24%) of the ad impressions generated by Android-powered phones worldwide in the two week's following its Nov. 6 launch, according to the latest data from mobile ad network AdMob. That made it second only to the G1, the initial Android phone launched last year, which had a 36% share.

With the release of other handsets including the myTouch 3G from T-Mobile and the HTC Hero from Sprint, Android in October increased its share of impressions to 20%, up from 17% the prior month. Based on its strong start, the Droid looks likely to overtake the G1 as the pointy edge of the Android spear in advertising.

But the Google operating system still has a ways to go to catch up with the iPhone OS, which represents 55% of smartphone impressions among in the U.S. and 50% globally. But we'll see what the Droid does in the coming months.

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3 comments on "Droid Does Ads".

1. John Andrews from Collective Bias
   

   commented on: November 24, 2009 at 3:08 p.m.

   With 75%+ consumers reporting either indifference or downright hostility to mobile ads, I'm not sure this is a plus. Just because you CAN advertise on a medium doesn't mean you SHOULD.

2. Howie Goldfarb from Howie Goldfarb
   

   commented on: November 24, 2009 at 5:07 p.m.

   First off Google should stick with Droid as an O/S to sell vs an Ad Platform. Problem is Google knows how to sell Ads not Technology. They created the Chrome Browser in order to combat FireFox with it's Google Killing Ad Blocker Plus Technology. Not only does Ad Blocker eliminate almost all Ad Serving Network Ads/Banners, it also blocks the Paid Google Search Ads! Droid has been developed so that Google can serve Ads to people's handsets. But in a very ironic/wry move they made the O/S open source. So in the not too distant future there will be Anti-Advertising Software you can download to your phone which could be problematic for their new Ad Mob purchase.

   Now the bright side. While FireFox does not block Pre-Roll commercials, which people willingly watch (or switch windows while it runs) to access worthy content, Ad Mob can serve these same Ads to Droid phones and I suspect people will willingly watch these (or stop looking at their phone until it is over).

   Banner Ads need to go which is what the CEO of Publicis has also stated. Everyone hates them. They are almost worthless in the scheme of things which is why they cost so little. But pre-roll is different. Wouldn't it be funny if in 5 years the biggest selling point of Droid is Ad Blocking Software!?

3. Matt Ellsworth from FLMSC Inc.
   

   commented on: November 29, 2009 at 7:26 p.m.

   It should also be noted that you can surf the net relatively ad free from a droid phone, just do a search on google for whatever you want, click on options next to the link, and select mobile version - Google will present you with a pretty fast stripped down version of the site without ads. I have no clue how this works, nor did I know that it worked till i saw it...

   Just some more reasoning behind admob stats not always being the whole picture.

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