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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Indian Mobile Advertisers Await the Arrival of 3G Services

I have always stated that India is one place where mobile advertising could grow really, really big. A recent report from FICCI-KPMG supports by claim again. It says that nearly 80% of mobile users in India do not mind getting ads on their mobile phones if they get something in return – free music downloads, video games, and stuff like that. More importantly, nearly 50% of mobile users say that they would view the ads they get on their phones.

This news could not have come at a better time for mobile advertisers. 3G services are going to be launched in India by the end of 2010, after which mobile users will be able to access mobile websites and WAP sites at lightning fast speeds. Though India entered the 3G domain in 2008, only the government owned operator, BSNL, was allowed to provide 3G services to customers. So, a huge section of mobile users, who use the services of private players, had to wait for a long time. Later this year, private players will be allowed to provide 3G service, after which there could be a huge increase in the number of 3G users in India.

What makes this report even more special is that Indian mobile market is growing at an astonishing pace. In 2001, there were only about 5 million mobile users in India. Within a decade, the number has increased to a mind-boggling 635 million, which means the market has grown at a jaw-dropping pace. So, India is potentially the biggest market for mobile advertisers all over the world.

Indian mobile advertisers feel that the introduction of 3G services will allow them to reach out to their target customer base more efficiently. So far, SMS advertising has remained the popular choice of advertisers all over the country as a large number of mobile users do not have high-end phones or high speed data connections. The situation, however, is changing rapidly. The increasing number of high-end phone users and the introduction of affordable 3G services mean that advertisers will now be able to reach out to their customers through video based and MMS based ads. So, Indian mobile advertising industry is awaiting the arrival of private players in the 3G domain eagerly.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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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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The FTC Approves Google’s Acquisition of AdMob

It has finally happened folks. The United States Federal Trade Commission has approved Google’s acquisition of AdMob. While this is something that we all knew would happen, there is an unexpected twist to the story. The approval was made possible because of Apple – Google’s arch rival. Incredible, don’t you think?

The FTC was reluctant to approve Google’s $750 million acquisition of AdMob because of just one reason – it thought the move would give Google an edge over all its competitors and make it a monopoly in the mobile advertising market. It thought the deal would make Google too big for any competitor to take on. Apple’s acquisition of Quattro Wireless in January, however, changed everything.

The acquisition of Quattro gave Apple a strong chance to dominate the mobile ad market. Moreover, an increasingly large number of people are using Apple iPhone and iPad to access the web on the go. So, the FTC decided that Apple’s deal with Quattro Wireless, coupled with the fact that the company has a significant presence in the smartphone market, will definitely mitigate the dominance of Google as a mobile advertising powerhouse and approved the latter’s acquisition of AdMob.

The FTC, in its own words, admitted that the decision was very difficult to make as the parties involved in the deal (Google and AdMob) are two of the most powerful mobile advertising networks in the world today. The regulators were worried about antitrust issues, which is one of the main reasons why they did not approve of the deal right away. The deal between Apple and Quattro Wireless changed their opinion and overshadowed their concerns. As a result, Google can now breathe a sigh of relief.

This, in my opinion, is the best thing that could have happened to the mobile advertising industry. Apple, which recently released the iPad, is poised to become a dominant force in the market and Google, with its Android OS, is already making waves in the market. As of now, the top players in the market include Apple, Symbian, Blackberry, Android, and Microsoft. The AdMob deal, however, gives Google a definite edge over its competitors.

The deal has made Google the largest mobile advertising network in the world today. As some of you already know, AdMob recently served its 200 billionth ad and serves, on average, 8.5 billion mobile ads every month. The company has its presence in more than 160 countries and has some of the biggest companies in the world as its clients. So, Google is all set to become the most dominant player in the market. Its competitors have their work cut out. It should be an interesting battle.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, Apple.

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How Big Will be the Impact of the iPad on Mobile Advertising?

So, the much awaited Apple iPad is here. Pundits have analyzed every single technical aspect of the gadget and have given their verdict, which is unanimously positive. As expected, the hype that preceded the launch was incredibly huge. I cannot recall any incident in the recent past that generated so much buzz in the market. Experts say that the iPad could transform everything – from print medium to computing. The real question, and the most pertinent question, is this – how big of an impact will it have on the world of mobile advertising?

Experts say that the impact will be huge. There is an important reason why they say so.

Creating ads for mobile phones with small screens is not exactly a great experience for advertisers as it does not give them a lot of options to explore their creativity. They are basically forced to create simple ads meant for low end phones. This is one of the reasons why a lot of advertisers still rely on text message marketing to reach their target customer base. The iPad, with its large touch screen and tons of highly advanced features, offers a great solution to this problem. Now, advertisers will be able to create compelling multimedia ads that will appeal to mobile users.

The only problem with the iPad, as far as I know, is the controlling and domineering nature of Apple. The company, as most of you are probably already aware of, insists on getting things done their way. So, advertisers might not be able to create ads whichever way they want and might be forced to follow the guidelines of the company. However, I do not think it will stop anyone from doing business with Apple, as mobile advertisers know that this is a great opportunity for them to build compelling mobile advertising campaigns to target consumers on the go.

Already, a number of mobile marketing companies have geared up to develop customized mobile video games, interactive publishing services, and applications for the iPad. So, soon we can expect them to come up with banner ads, video ads, audio ads, in-app ads, and other types of ads that are guaranteed to elicit response from the users.

From what I have seen and heard so far, I can safely assume that the iPad will have a huge impact on mobile advertising. It is, undoubtedly, great news for mobile advertisers, publishers, and app developers.

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

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