Commentary

Next Year's Mobile Growth Driver Will Be Media

Mobile “media” will be the mobile growth driver in 2013 and 2014. While mobile applications have become increasingly popular, there have not been many success cases when it comes to monetization. According to analysts, mobile advertising is a $20 billion opportunity in the U.S., yet across the globe, mobile ad spend hasn’t even reached $7 billion.

Why the discrepancy, you ask? In its initial stages, mobile advertising mimicked traditional Web advertising. But banners don’t work well for in-app mobile advertising. In mobile, the ads need to reflect the types of apps that people are using. In other words, they need to be richer and more engaging than the typical, generic banner ad.

Mobile will become a major percentage of overall media spend once we start seeing the right types of publisher-brand integrations. It will begin with retailers opening their mobile assets to brand advertisers in a way that is meaningful for the end-user.

A great example is eBay’s first advertiser program within one of its mobile apps. The television network AMC utilized the “Watch with eBay” app to promote its “Hell on Wheels” series. Because this app is specifically designed to offer users the unique ability to purchase items inspired by entertainment television at the very moment inspiration strikes (while they are in front of the TV), it made total sense for AMC to join forces with eBay to provide in-app advertisements that are incorporated into the app’s content. Now, users can watch a video trailer of Hell on Wheels and see related eBay listings.

This is only the beginning. As additional successful monetization case studies are shared, we fully expect to see mobile media becoming the major growth driver in mobile.

Brian Quinn, Chief Revenue Officer, Triad Retail Media

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