What to know what’s hot and who’s hot in mobile advertising right now? Check out this week’s mobile advertising news roundup from around the Web.
Mobile advertising is hot. But mobile ad networks are struggling. There’s no clearer example of that than Millennial Media, which became the first publicly-traded mobile ad network in 2012. But while mobile seems to be working for some — ie: Facebook — Millennial Media’s stock is down 47% since it listed in March 2012. Wall Street isn’t wild about the fact that its ability to grow is closely tied to headcount as deals as the majority of Millennial’s business is still people striking deals with publishers and advertisers.
According to some experts, programmatic – or real time bidding (RTB) – advertising spends will account for at least half the mobile ad spend with in the next few years. This increase in RTB spending is pushed by the data rich audience segments delivered.
It’s an open secret that mobile advertising still has its fair share of growing pains. From limited data, to inconsistent tracking methodologies, to a lack of transparency, context and brand safety, agencies still have plenty of reasons to be cautious.
Mobile ad networks are all the rage. A generation ago, the winners among its desktop brethren made a killing and many view the mobile Web and app ecosystem as a similar if not larger scale opportunity. And yet, no one has nailed it yet. The early winner was AdMob, which was acquired by Google for $750 million in 2009. Since, others like Millennial Media and Jumptap have emerged as worthy challengers. But there remains enormous opportunity for innovation and for additional high nine or even ten figure exits.
You already know mobile ads were taking off like crazy. But this fast? According to a new report from eMarketer, mobile ad revenues will surpass those of desktop ads by 2017. That sprint will be led by search ads, which have seen mobile revenues rocket from only 2% of all search ad dollars in 2010 to 22% this year. That will jump further to nearly 60% mobile by 2017.
