iPad Has Slim Lead In Ad Interaction Rates

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When it comes to comparing the engagement of in-app ads on tablets and smartphones, you might assume the former would be higher. And you'd be right. But the difference isn't as wide as might be expected.

According to a new study, rich media banners on the iPad had an interaction rate of 8% compared to 7% for other iOS and Android mobile devices -- primarily smartphones. And interstitial ads on the Apple tablet generated a 12.5% rate versus 10.3% on other devices, based on research by mobile rich media provider Medialets.

Both sets of response rates are high compared to traditional Web-based display ads, but not significantly different across tablets and smartphones. Time spent viewing interstitial or "takeover" ads in apps on the iPad and iPhone was also fairly consistent, at 30 and 34 seconds, respectively. (The ads were run less frequently on the iPad, however.)

In comparing ad formats, the study found takeover ads in iOS and Android apps across devices had a higher engagement rate than banners: 10.3% to 7%. As for ad interaction across different industry categories: CPG ads had an engagement rate of 32% in the first quarter, while others -- including finance, retail, automotive and business-to-business -- were each about 25%. Entertainment was a bit lower at 19%.

Medialets pointed out that response rates for the expandable banners skew higher than other formats because engagement is measured against the total number of expands rather than impressions. The benchmark rate for expandable ads in mobile rich media is just 1%. In terms of time spent, luxury and travel ads fared best, at 45 seconds and 41 seconds, respectively.

Those categories were followed by entertainment (32 seconds), CPG (31), automotive (28), beauty and fashion (27), and finance (24). Speaking at the OMMA Tablet Revolution conference on Monday, Chris Needham, vice president of Interactive, Fidelity Investments, confirmed that the company's advertising in iPad apps had delivered high engagement levels.

But while tablet advertising is "300% more expensive" than similar Internet properties, it's not 300% better than the traditional online equivalent. That's largely because advertising on tablets still isn't as efficient as the desktop Web. Needham also said tablet advertising, which Fidelity plunged into last year, is not driving revenue for the company by generating new customers.

Still other findings presented at the conference indicated that video, photos, tap-to-view and 360-degree product images were among the tablet ad features consumers liked best. The research by Universal McCann, however, also showed that users weren't keen on ads featuring music.

"If advertisers think people can play music to get people's attention, that's a huge turnoff," said Michael Haggerty, SVP, director of research and marketing accountability at the agency. Another turnoff was the use of repurposed TV commercials in tablet ads -- viewers want to see fresh, custom video content.

More broadly, Haggerty noted that people so far are using tablets as media consumption devices rather than for social networking or other ways of connecting with people. He also expects women to be a growing segment of the tablet audience in 2011.

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