Why Tablet Video Ads Can Work Wonders for Monetization

By Amy Vale

If tablet adoption continues at the rate it’s currently at, tabletswill overtake PCs by the first quarter of 2013. It’s no wonder eMarketer estimates that by 2015, over half of Internet users will be logging on via their tablet devices. With tablets gaining more and more market share, now is the time to look at your tablet monetization strategy and get the most out of the increasingly popular device.

A key factor in monetizing your tablet ad inventory is understanding (and applying) how it is different from its smartphone counterpart. The OnlinePublishers Association released a study that tablet owners are more likely to interact positively with ads, and the more a consumer used their tablet, the more likely they were to make a purchase through an ad. To take advantage of tablet users’ greater willingness to interact with mobile ads, publishers need to ask themselves a few critical questions. What device types and platforms are driving the highest traffic and click through rates? Are banner ads or mobile video accounting for the bulk of your mobile clicks? In fact, ComScore found that tablets have quickly reached critical mass in the U.S. The report indicates that tablet users were nearly three times more likely to watch video on their device compared to smartphone users, with one in every 10 tablet users viewing video content almost daily on their device.

Here are a few ways publishers and app developers can benefit from tablet video ads.

Video is a natural fit for tablet news and entertainment

With larger screens than their smartphone counterparts, tablets are becoming the tool for mobile entertainment. According to the InteractiveAdvertising Bureau, nearly 70 percent of respondents felt their tablets were their primary source for entertainment and media consumption. Just look at many of the news publishers out there, including Conde Nast and The Economist. Because the nature of reading news, watching TV/films, or listening to music is wholly interactive in nature, it goes without saying that serving ‘TV-like ad experiences’ will benefit tablet publishers and app developers. The more rich and immersive the video ad experience is, the more likely consumers are to click on the ads.

Video ads can propel mcommerce

There’s been a lot of talk about the imminent death of retail stores, led in part by mobile’s explosive growth worldwide. But what a lot of retailers don’t realize is that it doesn’t have to be an either/or mentality. We already know that people use their tablet devices to research (or “showroom”) for cool new products, better prices and nearby locations; they’re also using them to complete their purchases. Mobile video, in particular, can have a real impact on shopping. According to a recent report from Nielsen, ads displayed on smartphones and tablets yielded 79 percent general recall, 48 percent message recall, 24 percent ad favorability and 15 percent purchase intent. These figures were much higher than the impact of online and TV ads overall. Clearly, the opportunity to monetize video ads is one that tablet publishers and app developers cannot afford to ignore.

Car Shopping: How Publishers and App Developers Can Shift into Monetization Gear

By Amy Vale

The “shop by phone” phenomena isn’t just a U.S. thing; it’s going international. eMarketer expects U.S. consumers to make nearly $87 billion in mobile purchases by 2016, which is more than 27 percent of all ecommerce transactions. Meanwhile in the UK, smartphonepenetration is expected to reach 45.5 percent by the end of 2013, with an increase to 55 percent market share by the end of 2014. And one industry in particular is ripe to benefit from the increasingly mobile-first tendencies of consumers – automotive. With the rapid adoption of mobile platforms in the US and UK, car enthusiasts and shoppers will begin to diversify their mobile usage whether it’s using their mobile devices when actually inside their cars or looking to purchase a new car. The Societyof Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported roughly 1.9 million new UK car registrations were recorded in 2012, preserving the UK car industry from the greater decline in car sales being seen by many other European countries. With growing adoption of smartphones and tablets and more drivers hitting the road, the need for publishers and app developers to be laser-focused and strategic in their mobile strategies is even greater.

Target Customers En Route

It’s so important for app developers to understand (and know with great certainty) who their target audience is.  Are your app users aged 18-24? Do your app users typically use an iOS or Android device? What are the top DMAs where your users are located (and making purchase)? Knowing these details is crucial to ensuring your app doesn’t just become a one-hit wonder and actually creates a consistent stream of revenue.

With location targeting, apps developers can be more defined in how, where, and when they’re connecting and engaging with users. Whether it’s driving mcommcere or increasing the success of loyalty/rewards prgrams, location targeting can be a tremendous monetization boon for app developers. Take the navigation app Waze, for example. Waze found that over 50 percent of users make pit stops while driving, and many search for local services. With this information, they launched WazeAds to help local businesses target nearby users and send messages to those who are already searching for services.

Increase Clicks and Eyeballs with Rich Media

Rich media ads tend to perform well in driving users to mobile-optimized websites. According to Nielsen’sglobal survey of multi-screen media usage, 74 percent of global respondents report watching the video via the internet (on any device), up four points since 2010, and over half of global online consumers (56 percent) watch video on a mobile phone at least once a month and 28 percent at least once a day.

Tie Social into Metrics

Researchfrom Nielsen and NMI has surfaced proving something we’ve known for a while – the most engaged consumers on social networks are also the ones accessing the platforms on their mobile devices. In fact, 46 percent of social media users use their smartphones to access social media, while 16 percent do so via tablet devices. To truly see any benefits from this, publishers and app developers need to tier out their monetization strategies into short, medium and long term, and identify how to measure that effectively.

The Importance of Being Earnest

By Julie Preis

One of the biggest challenges in Mobile Marketing today is a lack of standardization which, as we all know, can result in confusion and inefficiencies.  Fortunately, many of the industry constituents and organizations have committed to work together on an on-going basis to foster growth and reduce waste.  This has resulted in initiatives like the IAB/MMA’s Mobile Phone Creative Guidelines (http://www.iab.net/mobileguidelines) and the Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions or MRAID (http://www.iab.net/mraid) specification.

While these are both good initiatives and the Mobile Marketing ecosystem will greatly benefit from their proliferation and adoption, the real value comes from the input of the participants, who sacrifice their time and energy simply because they believe in the future of mobile marketing and are passionate about its success.  Without these dedicated change agents, aligning interests to solve some of the industry’s most difficult problems would be nearly impossible.

Because of this, I have to commend the IAB for calling out participants who have been particularly instrumental in working through the details of some of these specifications.  I’m happy to say that Mocean Mobile’s own Director of Integrations, Aron Schatz, is among the folks being honored for his hard work and dedication to finalizing the MRAID 2.0 specification.  Aron focuses on enabling technologies that work across the industry because recognizes that standards decrease the cost of implementation and increase the availability and reach for everyone.

Not only did Aron contribute to the initial draft, comments and revisions of the standards over months of meetings with the MRAID committee, but he also built his own MRAID 2.0 creative to ensure that the specification was fully functional and usable.  The MRAID specification is very important to the mobile marketing ecosystem, as it creates an interface for app developers to be able to monetize their inventory with richer experiences – delivering a maximized ROI to the advertiser while allowing the app developer to drive higher revenue.

Aron will be accepting his IAB Service Excellence Award at the Annual Leadership Meeting on February 24^th in Phoenix, AZ.  Way to go, Aron!  You are truly an industry great!

In Love with Mobile: Our Favorite Monetization Tips for Valentine’s Day

By Amy Vale

New reports coming from comScore, and BIIntelligence indicate that mobile retail purchases are taking off. eMarketer estimates USretail mcommerce sales shot up 81 percent to nearly $25 billion last year. This year, an even bigger increase of 55.7% is expected, and mobile sales will account for 15 percent of all retail ecommerce. Plus, the IMRG& Capgemini e-retail index estimated Britons spent £5.4 billion online in February 2012.  The index also estimated by the end 2013, mcommerce would account for 20 percent of all online transactions. Second only to Christmas for holiday sales, there’s no doubt Valentine’s Day will play a huge role in the growth of mobile commerce this year. Here are two tips to help publishers and app developers get their monetization strategies on track for Valentine’s Day.

Target in a smart way

Know your target audience. This goes far beyond just identifying their demographics. What devices are they using? Is your primary customer base loyal to iOS, Android, or RIM? What types of things matter to your audience (i.e. discounts/deals, videos, etc.)? Only then can you layer on the right types of targeting parameters to reach your audience in the right place, at the right time, and with the most relevant and engaging type of mobile ad. One app that’s using targeting in a smart way is Find Chocolate. The free iPhone app lets users pinpoint the nearest chocolate shops and then gives them maps and directions to get there. Who doesn’t love chocolate on Valentine’s Day? But don’t just think the work stops there. Look at the metrics, whether it’s your app or a mobile-optimized site, to see what’s working, what’s not, and where improvements can be made. Then, tailor your targeting to deliver stronger ROI and sales. The more focused and smart you are with your targeting parameters, the more likely you’ll be to monetize effectively.

Keep the UX and UI Simple

When it comes to mobile commerce, an easy-to-use user experience and interface can go a long way in driving sales. Easy site navigation helps get customers from product research to actually clicking “buy”. Though a report from Forrester shows mcommerce is growing, the research outfit actually blames slower mobile commerce growth on mobile sites and apps that make it hard for consumers to check out. As a retailer, you can increase your own mobile sales by making it easy for app users to find what they are looking for and to complete their purchases. As a result, you reduce the likelihood that they’ll get bored or dump what’s in the mobile “cart” because it took too many steps to get there.