RIM Looking to Acquire a Mobile Advertising Network?

The latest news in the mobile world is that Research In Motion, the famed Blackberry maker, is looking to buy a mobile advertising network.

RIM firmly believes that the only way to take on its arch rivals Apple and Google is to buy a mobile ad network which is big enough to challenge the networks of its rivals. It is said the company has been negotiating with Millennial Media, a Baltimore based advertising network. The talks, however, were not a success as the ad network expected a huge sum – somewhere in the range of $400-500 million.

RIM, understandably, is concerned about paying such a huge price as it believes that it is too expensive a price to pay to acquire the network. If you remember, Apple paid close to $300 million to acquire Quattro and Google paid an astronomical $750 million to acquire AdMob.

Millennial Media, according to sources, is not very interested in the deal as it believes that it has a bright future as an independent company. Also, it believes that an acquisition by RIM would limit its ability to serve targeted ads to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod platforms, which would eventually affect its relationship with Apple. So, it is not willing to give the nod unless it gets the right price.

Since the talks with Millennial Media were less than satisfactory, RIM is also believed to be looking for other mobile advertising networks like Greystripe and JumpTap.

The reason why RIM is so desperate to acquire a mobile ad network is not hard to understand. Its share in the global smartphone market slumped from 19.1 percent to 17.8 percent recently and most of its latest launches like Blackberry Storm, Storm2, and Blackberry Torch have not been a great success. So, to catch up with the rapid growth of Google Android and Apple OS, it believes it has to have its own mobile advertising network. While both Millennial Media and Research In Motion have declined to comment publicly on the developments, it is said that we could expect some big news, particularly from the RIM camp, in the near future.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, RIM.

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US Mobile Display Ad Spending Likely to Exceed $1 Billion in 2015

ABI Research’s recent report says that mobile advertising spending on display ads in the United States is likely to quadruple in the next few years. The amount spent on mobile display ads, which stands at just over $300 million now, is expected to exceed $1.2 billion in 2015.

Neil Strother of ABI Research says that a survey conducted by the firm in February revealed that 28% of mobile users use the mobile internet facility regularly. He says that the percentage of mobile internet users has increased phenomenally in the last 14 months, which is a great sign for the mobile advertising market.

The report, based on the inputs from a number of mobile marketers, technology vendors, mobile network operators, and advertising agency executives, says that there has been a steady increase in the amount allocated for mobile ad campaigns by companies. Industry insiders say that they have been seeing year-over-year increases of 25%-30%, which is unprecedented when you consider the fact that the industry is still in its infant stage.

Marketers use different types of ads like mobile display ads, text message ads, in-app ads, search ads, and video ads to reach their target audience. They rely on simple text message ads to reach people with low end phones that lack advanced features like mobile TV, internet, audio, and video. On the other hand, they use a variety of rich, multimedia ads to reach people with smartphones that come loaded with advanced features. Statistics show that smartphone penetration in the US is just about 20% now. As this number increases, we can expect a huge surge in the number of mobile ads served across the country.

One of the important signs that indicate a bright future for the industry is the entry of big players like Apple and Google. So far, the industry has been dominated by independent ad networks like Millennial Media, Jumptap, and Greystripe. Google’s acquisition of AdMob and Apple’s acquisition of Quattro Wireless, however, has changed the scenario completely. It shows that the idea of using the mobile phone as an advertising medium is slowly getting mainstream acceptance, which is great news for anyone is related to the mobile advertising industry.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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NBC Universal enhances its mobile web presence

In a move to enhance its mobile web presence, NBC Universal has signed deals with Verizon Wireless, Research In Motion, and AT&T. So, from now on, mobile phone users will be able to access NBC Universal content through 60 WAP sites that cover a wide range of brands including NBC, NBC Sports, USA Network, Sci Fi Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, Astrology.com, Universal Pictures, and CNBC.

All these mobile sites from NBCU will be available on the application sites of Verizon Wireless, Research In Motion, and AT&T and mobile users can access these sites via their carriers’ menus. NBCU believes this move will drive a lot of traffic to its ad-funded mobile websites.

NBCU has joined hands with JumpTap, a leading mobile advertising company, to take care of its ad network. JumpTap will be in charge of mobile advertising campaigns on all the WAP sites under the NBCU network.

NBC Universal has been eyeing the mobile web market for quite some time now and by joining hands with such big names in the market, it has laid the foundation pretty well. It is also worth remembering that NBCU signed a similar deal with Alltel Wireless last year.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

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Yahoo partners with AT&T to deliver mobile ads

Yahoo has partnered with AT&T to deliver mobile ads to AT&T’s mobile users. Currently, AT&T has a strong user base of over 70 million. Through this partnership, Yahoo will be able to provide web search for AT&T Mobility customers on AT&T’s customary portal MediaNet and deliver targeted ads to customers who access internet on their mobile phones.

As of now, MediaNet uses Infospace/Motricity and JumpTap for on-portal and off-portal searches respectively. As AT&T has signed up a partnership with Yahoo, soon Yahoo might replace them as the default search service.

Now, if you remember, Yahoo partnered with T-Mobile sometime back in Web n Walk and now, it has partnered with AT&T. Yahoo is simply relentless in its pursuit to become the number one player in search market, a position which is held by its rival Google for ages now. I just love this competition. It’s always good for us – customers.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Yahoo.

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