Top Tweets in Advertising for Smartphones and Tablets from March to April 8th.

Smartphones and tablets continue their mega penetration. Many of the links below show the frankly astonishing penetration of smartphones, with tablet penetration increasingly following suit. Of course that leads to the question where is the money? Advertising in its various forms has always been what powers the Internet and this has been expected to translate in the mobile world. And boy are there are a variety of methods to translate the advertising potential on smartphones and tablets. The humble  banner ad is being increasingly replaced by revenue drivers that focus around targeting, location, email campaigns, daily deals etc

It's interesting to note that audio streams according to Comscore's latest reports ( second link below)

show a far greater increase in audience than video so far. This is probably a function of the  bandwidth needed and bandwidth caps for subscribers.

Mobile monetization

1. Mobile Payments and Mobile Advertising Have a Promising Future Together http://huff.to/13HwVN9 

2. Stepping up to the challenge of mobile ad monetization - Mobile Marketer - Columns http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/columns/14925.html …

3. What Does That Second Screen Mean for Viewers and Advertisers? http://adweek.it/14HiHg6 

4. Why Mobile Ads Are The "Darlings" of Entertainment Brands -- http://ow.ly/jp7hy 

5. Why Mobile Advertising Should Soar This Year http://www.businessinsider.com/mobile-advertising-should-soar-this-year-2013-33 …

6. Mobile Ad Targeter Tapad Raises $6.5 Million, Valued at $140 Million http://dthin.gs/15vHmQy 

7. CHART: Mobile Ad Spending Share Worldwide, by Vertical - http://ow.ly/jDk45 

8. Consumers Racing Toward Big Retailer Mobile Coupons http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/consumers-racing-toward-big-retailer-mobile-coupons-30948/ …

9. Google Acts to Raise Mobile-Ad Prices - Yahoo! Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-acts-raise-mobile-ad-021900795.html …

Compare tablets with smartphones and TV :

A secondary differentiation is appearing as to where the value is between smartphones and tablets. Whereas smartphones appear to be more and more about Location, Location, Location ( if you have ever talked to a realtor you know what I am mis - quoting here :) ), tablets are all about the  CTR ( clicks basically) that they are able to deliver. I have emisspoused this as one of the reasons that second screen apps coordinated with traditional TV will be a significant differentiators to advertisers. TimeWarners study above further shows this trend and many of the articles below show the increasing rise of the tablet as an alternative TV media consumption channel.  I mean I am guilty of this in personal life, even with a big screen TV it has happened that while a number of family members are watching on the big screen someone will have an Ipad in the same room and watch something else!!

 
1. Devices Will Drive Social TV http://bit.ly/148uBz8 

2.. For Ad Clicks, Tablets Outperform Smartphones - eMarketer http://po.st/4jsiHC 

3. People watch movies on tablets, and I guess most of the movies are VOD. - eMarketer http://po.st/vDH5IB 

4. Tablets Are Eating Into Smartphones' Share Of Mobile Content Usage, While Android Remains In Lead Overall, http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/05/tablets-are-eating-into-smartphones-share-of-mobile-content-usage-while-android-remains-in-lead-overall-finds-jumptap/ …

5. BBC Study Confirms Tablets' Growing Role In TV Consumption, But Also That TV Remains Supreme http://tcrn.ch/YBG0Ui 

6.. Study: Mobile Video Ads That Include Social Media Buttons Drive 36% Higher Engagement - http://www.videonuze.com/article/study-mobile-video-ads-that-include-social-media-buttons-drive-36-higher-engagement …

Hispanics mobile media consumption

Finally this is just plain interesting. It may be that long form mobile video consumption will take off first in South America!! Not the US, Not Europe. No idea if this will truly pan out but the trend is just plain fascinating. 

1. Some key takeaways: "Hispanics consume more mobile media than the general population." Possibly driven by age and culture. For Hispanics social is mobile and mobile is social. #MMAweb

2. Latin America Becoming The Next Hot Spot for OTT and Streaming Media Services http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_business_of_online_vi/2013/02/latin-america-to-become-the-next-major-region-for-streaming-media-services.html …

Video on demand Advertising is here. Where is the value? pre -roll or mid roll ads?

This blog was triggered when I read the excellent blog by Bruce Goerlich at Rentrak.
  Video on Demand - The Power of Pre-roll
He is spot on that the highest value individual ad is a pre-roll ad as viewership can only decline from the start of a Video on Demand session and therefore the most valuable ads are pre-rolls. However the aggregate value of the ads paints a slightly different picture. Basically much of the total revenue for a piece of content is going to come from the mid rolls

The fact of the matter is that there are only so many pre-rolls opportunities that you can expose a user to before, they will stop viewing. In reality this is between one and three x 30 second ads. At 3 you are probably going to lose viewers.

But on premium long form content that is now starting to become accessible in Over the Top environments that is not going to be financially viable. As a comparison in classic live TV in a typical one hour time period there are nearly 18 minutes of ads. That would be 36 x30 second ads!

Hulu is another excellent point of reference to see what the ad payload is. Based on entirely subjective testing ( which could mean I have too much time on my hands to watch all those Hulu episodes!!) there are  between 7 and over 20 x30 second ad break on premium long form content. ( In English that is TV episodes that you can watch on demand). Only one or two of these breaks were pre-rolls.

I will repeat! Only 1 or 2 of these ads were pre-roll ads. The ratio of pre-roll to mid -roll works out to be 2:20 or 1:10 making some guesses about the average pay load.

However the value of the pre-roll ads is not ten times the value of the mid-rolls.Actually the cost of a pre-roll ad is not even twice the cost of a mid roll.Therefore most of the value in the aggregate for a piece of content is in the mid-rolls even though the individual value of a pre-roll is higher than a mid roll ad.

Top Tweets for Advertising on TV, Mobile, Web Jan -Feb 2013

TV & Online Advertising

There continue to be active discussion in articles all over this space on the collision between the TV world and the Internet. Every month people speculate on how the Internet players will enter this space, especially Apple. Both Apple and Google have started but their products have not really gotten the traction that is typical for these companies!

However what is not up for debate is that a collision will happen. With the increasing growth online/mobile etc and the incredibly steep growth curve that online video advertising has its more a question of when and how rather than whether a collision will occur.

The great thing about this upcoming collision is the tremendous opportunities that it can create for companies that react and adapt to the new forms of monetization that this collision will create. Business models are going to change for all the industries concerned and evolve.

1. 5 Reasons Apple Can't Disrupt TV--And One Crazy Way It Could http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2013/02/21/5-reasons-apple-cant-disrupt-tv-and-one-crazy-way-it-could/?utm_campaign=techtwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social  (02.21.2013)

2. The cord-cutting debate and the role of second screen in TV, advertising and content distribution http://lnkd.in/VYgxCp  (02.2013)

3. Time Warner Says Netflix Demand Fueling More Original TV on Cable http://adage.com/article/media/netflix-deals-fuel-original-tv-cable/239633/  (02.06.2013)

4. Digital Disruption Can Make TV Ads More, Not Less, Relevant http://adage.com/u/lS6Vfa  (02.06.2013)

5. Online Video to Have Minimal (-0.9%) Impact on TV Viewing Over Next 5 Years http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/194029/despite-cord-cutting-tv-dominates-advertising.html?edition=56961#axzz2LaujA1me  (02. 21.2013)

6. Super Bowl Ads On Mobile Don't Encourage Brand Interaction  http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192683/super-bowl-ads-on-mobile-dont-encourage-brand-int.html#ixzz2LqT7aSq5 (02.04.2013)

7. Super Bowl ads prompt big mobile response, MMA data finds http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192683/super-bowl-ads-on-mobile-dont-encourage-brand-int.html#axzz2LqSkz5Z5  (02.06.2013)

8. 10 Reasons To Combine Your TV And Web Video Ad Campaigns: http://bit.ly/126f9Qp   (12.07.2012)

9. Big TV Ad Buyers Still Not on Board with Online Video Advertising? http://www.reelseo.com/tv-ad-buyers-online-video-advertising/#ixzz2EmIZrBCO&w …  (12.2012)

10. On-the-move TV viewing figures remain low http://gu.com/p/3dq74  ( 02.19.2013)

11. More evidence of tablets slowly killing the PC market http://dlvr.it/2zbWkS  (02.21.2013)

12. Two Worlds Collide: Smooth Streaming Meets Flash Player http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=86841 … (01.29.2013)

13. Comcast Web TV Unit Prefers HTML5 Over Flash http://www.lightreading.com/middleware-business-support-systems/comcast-web-tv-unit-prefers-html5-over-flash/240147212?f_src=lightreading (01.29.2013)  

14. In Defense of Banner Ads　http://www.digiday.com/agencies/in-defense-of-banner-ads/ (01.14.2013)

15. CHART: Demographic Profile of US Online Buyers of Select CPG Products - http://ow.ly/hCpuw  (02.11.2013)

16. Why privacy isn't the problem with online targeting http://lnkd.in/t-KHN4  (12.06.2012)

Social Advertising

Social advertising is likely to be the first great intersector in the collision that will occur between TV and Internet. I have used the Superbowl in the past as a great predictor for the future of the TV industry in general. Given the large viewing audience and the tremendous amount of money involved many great innovations in this space occur at SuperBowl. This year was no exception with major interactions occurring between social adverting and live TV viewing. I am still mystified at the lack of additional video ads during the SuperBowl power outage. I am sure if a similar disruption ever occurs again there will be no lack of ads!!

Native ads are going back and forth on the validity. Their efficacy in my opinion is high but the creative effort that is needed is still very high. That will change as more tools are brought into this space to rapidly create native advertising.
 

17. Social media transforming SuperBowl ads [LIST of brands integrating social into campaigns] http://cbsn.ws/WWuAr8   (01.31.2013)

18. The massive advertising shift that Twitter is trying to capitalize on with its API http://paidcontent.org/2013/02/21/the-massive-advertising-shift-that-twitter-is-trying-to-capitalize-on-with-its-api/ (02.21.2013)

19. Native Video Ads: Silicon Valley's Shiny New Thing Or Industry Savior? http://tcrn.ch/Tgv22X  (12.22.2102)

20. Social ties help drive user content generation that leads to online ad revenue growth http://bit.ly/UynrtC  (12.11.2012)

21. Insights from SM Report 2012: Asian-Americans & Hispanics are most likely to make a purchase after seeing a social ad. http://ow.ly/fYywq ( 12.10.2012)

Mobile TV& Advertising

Mobile TV remains nascent. There is plenty of opportunity there. Content is increasingly available now on the mobile platforms in a variety of forms. The original thoughts that the form factor would not likely be ideal for premium content seems to be dying down as viewing on mobile and tablet form factors is clearly growing and ads targeting this space are on the rise.
 

22. Voice: One Screen to Rule Them All http://flip.it/Xx2Cn  (02.13.2013)

23. Honda drives engagement for video campaign via mobile ads http://ow.ly/hlnNy ” (01.30.2013)

24. The Young Guns of Mobile Advertising Proving Most Effective http://www.examiner.com/article/the-young-guns-of-mobile-advertising-proving-most-effective (1.28.2013)

25. Time Spent In Retailers' Mobile Apps Grows More Than Five-Fold In A Year, Flurry Finds http://tcrn.ch/WmaSqF   (01.25.2013)

26. BII REPORT: Here Are The Major Players In Mobile Advertising  http://read.bi/TXjB4l  (02.04.2013)

Top Tweets for Advertising on Tablets and Smartphones

Smartphones and Tablets

The battle between Apple and Google Android continues with Samsung reigning as the top Android provider. Each month based on the latest new product that either of the camps launches that one surges. For December Apple was increasing in the US based on the Iphone. But as the rest of the links below show this is nowhere near done and the only thing that is certain is that there will be swings every month. The only downside is that I seriously need to look at the Iphone again. I cant for the life of me figure out why I and my family  need one already having

1.     Android GS 3 and Charge(ok I turned that off)

2.     Ipad 1 and Ipad 2

3.     Kindle Fire and original Kindle. (Ok this is not really Andorid but its based on it.)

4.     Ipod Touch and Ipods

From an advertising perspective the discussion is moving from which vendors and which video formats to which screen size and what experience.  

1. iPhone Overtakes Android in the U.S.; Android Extends Lead Abroadhttp://j.mp/V75fbq 

2. Smartphone wars: iOS apps bring in four times as much revenue as Android apps http://cnet.co/Qt6Vz4 

3. CHART: Android Has Room For Growth In Major European Markets https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/mobile-explodes-in-the-brics-2012-12 … 

4. Tablet wars: The iPad overwhelmingly dominates the market, but it lost more than 7% to Amazon recently http://cnet.co/VztLUl 

5. ComScore: iPhone up to 35 percent of US smartphone share in November, Android steady - http://engt.co/XoXIeY 

6. Samsung, Android Remain On Top In US Mobile, Apple Supplants LG As No2: comScore http://tcrn.ch/RuZ84f 

7. Kantar: iPhone 5 boosts Apple's US smartphone share to 53.3 percent, Android still tops in Europe - http://engt.co/UiSsH4 

MultScreenVideo:

The usage of non TV devices in conjunction with TV or in place of traditional TV devices is becoming more and more mainstream.
Companion viewing, that is watching tv  while a tablet or smartphone is in your lap is increasing and crossing demographic boundaries. Basically its not just the teens and early adopters any more that are watching tv with a tablet or smartphone in their lap.

1.     44% of 55-64 year olds use their tablets while watching TV, proving technology is no longer reserved for the young. http://ow.ly/fQNB0 

2.     Nielsen: 85 Percent Of Tablet And Smartphone Owners Use Devices As "Second Screen" Monthly, 40 Per... http://tcrn.ch/TI3698  

3.     Digital Divide of the Sexes? More female smartphone owners use their phones while watching TV than men. http://ow.ly/fQKHn 

4.     Why companion devices should -- and will -- replace the PC | ZDNet http://buff.ly/URr3rG 

5.      CPG Marketing Trends Multiscreen Consumption Becoming the Norm http://bit.ly/Wz4byl 

6.     Multiscreen offerings “increasing” in Europe and Asia - now reach 66% of #payTV subscribers in Western Europe - http://tvfutu.re/RGRGEq 

Top Tweets for Advertising on TV and Online

TV & TV Ads

Tv advertising that many people feel is pretty passé in the face of the Internet is not going away anytime soon. Many reports indicate that the spending on traditional tv is growing only marginally. However the tvb data shown below begs to differ and actually shows increased spending in multiple areas. As the wealth of advertising articles show  there is much that is happening in this space thank you very much!

   1.     Ad Spending First Half 2012 vs. 2011 Television ($000) http://www.tvb.org/trends/4705 

   2.     biakelsey.com/Research-and-Forecasts/Forecasts/ … excellent data about local/ tv/ internal ads.

   3.     Comcast to sell local advertising in AT&T U-verse TV homes http://www.fiercecable.com/story/comcast-sell-local-advertising-att-u-verse-tv-homes/2012-10-25 …

   4.     AT&T says it''ll expand U-verse to 33 million homes passed, and increase broadband speeds to 75 Mbps. http://www.fiercecable.com/story/att-expand-u-verse-33m-homes-increase-broadband-speeds-75-mbps/2012-11-07 …

   5.     In new era, operators scorn over-the-top services at their peril http://dlvr.it/2SsFvM 

   6.     TV now has web-like ad metrics–so why aren’t they being used? http://dlvr.it/2SsyFY 

   7.     Comcast’s Revenue Rises 3.8% as Local Ads Start to Return: http://nyti.ms/RhhOCa 

Interactive TV is the hoped for area that will mature in the traditional TV space. This was announced last year and the consumer electronics folks have adopted it in a big way. However it is still in the process of maturing as well as the hybrid of traditional of TV ads with Internet ads
   1. Yahoo and Samsung announce multi-year interactive TV partnership  http://engt.co/XfmkWx 
   2. Digital Drives US Local Ad Spending Growth - eMarketer http://po.st/Ch3sEc  

 Online Video /Online Ads

No surprise here. Online advertising continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Video advertising is a real growth segment in an area that is already growing at a rapid pace.

   1.     The State of Web Video Advertising - Business Insider http://flpbd.it/zAL1p 

   2.     Online Ads Hit New Record: $2.83 Billion a Month http://flpbd.it/uDXp7 

   3.     Internet Ad Revenues Rise to Historic $17 Billion in First Half 2012, Up 14% Over Half-Year 2011, According to IAB http://soc.li/K9GhUxO 

   4.     Look How Much Progress AOL Has Made In Its Bid To Quietly Destroy TV by http://read.bi/PU4xCp 

   5.     Weather.com  Got A 7000% Ad Boost During Hurricane Sandy http://read.bi/SnGHdW 

   6.      reelseo.com/connecting-consumers-content/ … ＂viewers viewing more video staying on sites means more revenue generation potential because more ads... being shown.＂

   7.     Asian Americans strong adopters of online video content streaming 72% more content than total population (2012, Nielsen, no link)

   8.     Open Mic - The future of TV Everywhere is here | Articles | CED Magazine - Communications, Engineering and Design http://flpbd.it/xccFk  

But still there are clearly a lot of things need to improve:

  1.      Retargeting & Rethinking the Click  http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2012/09/14/retargeting-rethinking-the-click/

   2.     Things The Online Ad Business Must Do NOW To Improve Its Credibility http://read.bi/SGfsMf 

Native advertising is the new new thing in this space and the industry is abuzz about it. However as native advertising is brand new questions do arise on how truly effective it is. As with any space this will settle down as the segment grows and becomes more mature and measureable.

1.     Native ads are the latest buzz, but do they actually work? New survey provides some consumer insight into the matter. http://adweek.it/TFzU2K 

Top Tweets for Advertising on Tablets & Smartphones

Tablets and Advertising  

In the Multiscreen video advertising space the arrival and growing relevance of the tablet and its many forms of viewing are more and more apparent. The tablet can be used for :

• Directly viewing like a TV
• Directly viewing like a DVR or Netflix
• Companion device where it is providing information about what you are seeing on the TV

However monetization strategies using advertising have not yet taken root. The tablet is largely being treated as a web device. I am not convinced that this will remain this way. It may be that it will follow the smartphone path where advertising originally started as basically the same as internet advertising. Since then it's become fairly clear that the smartphone needs to be treated differently from an advertising perspective. Here is what has been happening in the tablet space in the last month.

1.  Understanding tablet use. http://j.mp/RsgIm6 ” this is a research paper
2.  By 2015, more than half of US internet users will use a tablet. http://ow.ly/eA6Oj 
3. Heavy Tablet Users Respond More Positively to Ads, Survey Shows IPad owners more receptive to ads than Android users http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/heavy-tablet-users-respond-more-positively-ads-survey-shows-141178#1
4. These Graphs Show How Tablet Ad Spending Will Crush Smartphones Over The Next Four Years
   http://www.businessinsider.com/idc-predicts-tablet-vs-smartphone-ad-spend-2012-11
5. What TV viewers are doing on their tablets [study](4.2012)  http://lostremote.com/what-tv-viewers-are-doing-on-their-tablets-study_b28325

SmartPhones and advertising

There is the continuing debate of Apple versus Android versus Windows versus Blackberry. In the smartphone market the large players remain Android and Apple with Android continuing to increase its market share on a worldwide basis. Mobile advertising revenue continues to rise even though there are questions about the accuracy of reporting as well as adapting internet advertising models to the mobile space. Here are ton of articles on the subject that have been recently released.

1.     BII REPORT: The Mobile Advertising Ecosystem Explained http://read.bi/RiAFMC 

2.     "U.S. mobile local advertising revenues will grow from $664 million in 2011 to $5.8 billion in 2016" http://fb.me/1LNZD36iP 

3.       iPhone Loyalty Is Waning - Are You Surprised? http://bit.ly/YKyWDh 

4.       Mary Meeker Gives Mid-Year Internet Trends Report: Android Adoption Ramping Up 6X Faster Than iPhone http://tcrn.ch/RFdk89 

5.     Sondergaard: By 2018, 70% of mobile workers will use a tablet or hybrid device that has tablet-like characteristics. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9232936/With_post_PC_era_comes_real_OS_competition 

6.     Nearly 1 in 4 computers sold last quarter were tablets http://dlvr.it/2RBMRp 

7.     Google has $8 billion in mobile revenue: is that good or bad? http://dlvr.it/2LMyGb 

8.     Google Admits Mobile Ads Are Causing 'Deceleration' In Revenue Growth http://read.bi/Tcv7n4 

9.     MOBILE ADVERTISING'S DARKEST SECRET: Here's The REAL Error Rate For 'Fat Finger' Clicks http://read.bi/RQTHte 

10.   Gartner predicts that Android and iOS will dominate smartphones, but Windows Phone will gain "substantial share:" http://zd.net/SshD9c 

11.   BII MOBILE INSIGHTS: iOS Continues To Dominate Mobile Ad Monetization  http://read.bi/RRs17E 

BII REPORT: How Content Is Being Consumed On Mobile Devices  http://read.bi/RsIp08   

Android Ice cream sandwich or higher now at 25% penetration!

The Android adoption curve of Ice cream sandwich (Version 4.0 and higher) continues at a fast pace. After a slow start it has been consistently been rising.At this point according to Android developer.com Ice Cream sandwich or higher is now deployed on greater than 25% of all Android devices. My personal forecast based on absolutely no data is that by next year we will cross 50% penetration and the slope will start tapering off.

Why am I focused on it? Well Android 4.0 ( aka Ice cream sandwich)is the first version to support Apple's HLS format. Why this is important for advertising I elaborated on in an earlier blog Apple HLS for Apple devices and now Android 4.0

 So I thought it was interesting to plot it month by month and see where we are headed. 

 

 ( BTW on a factual note I forgot to look up the number in September so the 21% is a guess but the 25% is from today's data and the curve seems about right

. Secondary note the 25.5% number includes a 1.8% of Jellybean adoption number).

 I also find it useful to actually look at the full data so here it is in all its glory 

Version	Codename	API	Distribution
1.5	Cupcake	3	0.1%
1.6	Donut	4	0.4%
2.1	Eclair	7	3.4%
2.2	Froyo	8	12.9%
2.3 - 2.3.2	Gingerbread	9	0.3%
2.3.3 - 2.3.7		10	55.5%
3.1	Honeycomb	12	0.4%
3.2		13	1.5%
4.0.3 - 4.0.4	Ice Cream Sandwich	15	23.7%
4.1	Jelly Bean	16	1.8%

Data collected during a 14-day period ending on October 1, 2012

 Source : http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html