Dialing For Dollars: iPhone Leads Mobile Ad Results
- by Gavin O'Malley @mp_gavin, July 5, 2011
Indeed, devices based on Apple's iOS operating system achieved twice the performance of phones based on Google's Android operating system, and five times the performance of BlackBerry phones, MediaMind found.
In addition, mobile ads achieved an impressive click-through rate of 0.61%, while standard display banners for PCs recorded a CTR of 0.07%.
Formerly known as Eyeblaster, MediaMind said it reviewed about 230 million mobile impressions in the fourth quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2011.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the browsing habits of mobile users revealed some surprising results, according to Gal Trifon, president and CEO of MediaMind.
While PC browsing peaks during business hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., mobile browsing soars during the evenings, he said. Mobile click-through rates also reach their peak during the evening, but still maintain a higher CTR than PC at any time of the day.
"Mobile is proving to be one of the most financially rewarding formats in the media mix," Trifon explained. "This is most likely the result of mobile ads being a new experience for many users, and that they occupy a larger portion of the screen as compared to browser ads."
The study also found that most verticals achieved a high CTR, beating out benchmarks for browser standard banners.
In particular, entertainment, retail and financial services were among the highest performing industry verticals in mobile, while apparel and "government" have the lowest CTR.
MediaMind was recently acquired by DG for $414 million in cash. DG, which delivers video ads through a digital network, made the deal to expand into online advertising.
Most of us have abandoned CTR as a measure of performance.
Further, based on my own experience and that of others I've spoken with, a lot of banner taps are inadvertent. Before we get too excited about all these "clicks", let's see what the bounce rate is on the landing pages.
Geoffrey is right.
In addition, the ads may be easier to click on iPhone, or the may inhabit a larger relative screen size.
And, while this may seem prejudiced against iPhone users, I have a hunch that if you were to poll Android users, many of them based their phone choice on being wary of closed-source software, app publication, and monetized apps. If this is indeed the case, then certainly they would have a lower CTR anyway.