Tag: mobile ads

This concept has been considered to be impossible by virtually everybody, until now, with a promise by Millennial Media.

A leading mobile ad marketplace, Millennial Media, has recently announced that it will soon be offering a guarantee for 100 percent viewability for in-app advertising campaigns, which is certain to cause a stir.

This type of promise has never before been both made and kept, but it is still likely to hold significant appeal to mobile marketers.

The issue that this mobile ad promise is attempting to address is that marketers are beginning to become highly frustrated with the amount of money that they are spending on advertising that isn’t being seen by anyone. They are seeking to find ways to spend their money on advertising that won’t result in simply paying a fraudulent company, that will receive poor data on impressions that are actually being achieved, or that simply result in un-viewability.

A viewable mobile ad results in improved accountability for digital advertising that is more comparable with other channels.

At the moment, the mobile advertising environment is lacking in solid viewability standards and best practices. According to the CEO and president of Millennial Media, Michael Barrett, who is also an IAB Board Member, “The mobile ad ecosystem is desperately seeking guidelines around viewability.” He added that “Today, we are choosing the highest standard possible by offering a 100 percent in-app viewability guarantee.”

In this effort, the firm will be working alongside partner company Integral Ad Science (IAS). Barrett explained that “We have selected Integral Ad Science as our measurement partner because they are the only at-scale vendor that can currently measure in-app viewability.” He also stated that “We will continue to partner closely with the MRC, IAB, and the mobile ad ecosystem to define industry-wide standards around viewability. We are committed to becoming the largest mobile marketplace that provides 100 percent viewable, brand safe, and fraud free impressions.”

IAS has already conducted a deep investigation into the Millennial Media mobile ad network to be certain that the capabilities are all in place. Moreover, both companies have been working alongside publishers in order to implement certain viewability boosting technical changes.

A recent report has indicated that European networks are testing ad blocking technology.

Although there have been no official confirmations, yet, a report that was recently published in the Financial Times has suggested that wireless networks across Europe are checking out a type of software that would help them to stop some mobile advertising.

The report suggested that the mobile carriers have already installed ad blocking software.

The article speaks of anonymous sources, saying that the software selected by the carriers to block the mobile advertising is from Shine, a company based in Israel. The mobile networks are apparently looking into methods that would allow them to stop ads that will appear within web pages as well as in smartphone and tablet apps, but not the type that appears through social networks. It has been suggested that an effort is being made to crack through the hold that Google has over the online marketing sector.

The report suggests that the tests are starting to stop one company from controlling mobile advertising.

This type of strategy, if it were ever actually implemented, could be crippling to companies that are dependent on revenues that are generated through mobile ads. The report suggests that these tests are not limited to one network in Europe. According to the report, “an executive at a European carrier confirmed that it and several of its peers are planning to start blocking adverts this year.” It also said that it will open up as an “opt-in service.”

This would not be the first time that a mobile carrier has tested or even attempted to create a complete block for advertising. Two years ago, French ISP “Free” created a router firmware update that blocked ads. That said, the French government forced it to take the update down shortly after it was added.

On the other hand, in the United States, there have also been certain internet providers that have attempted to add even more advertising for their clients, but the outcry against it put that to a stop, as well.

While this test of software to block mobile advertising by European networks does appear to be occurring, it should be noted that it is quite unlikely that the European Commission would give permission to the carriers for blocking portions of websites for their own purposes as it is a net neutrality issue that could rapidly spiral out of control.