AdMonsters Playbook: Mobile App Advertising
When the iPhone App Store opened its metaphorical doors in 2008, it signaled a dawning age for digital media. Applications were by no means a new phenomenon—the majority of software on laptops, smartphones, tablets and other connected devices are applications.
But accessing online media through an application other than a browser was a bold move forward, offering content providers a more intimate and appropriate medium for reaching their audiences on the most personal of devices. It also proved a great channel for a variety of up-and-coming providers offering gaming (many times social) and utilities/services (with location data proving a key advantage).
Hence, Apple establishing a marketplace to manage third-party applications showed that the app was a force to be reckoned with in the burgeoning world of smartphones and other mobile devices. By the end of January 2011, more than 10 billion apps had been downloaded from the store. As of June 2015, that number had reached 100 billion—and that’s just for a single mobile operating system.
Apps have only grown more popular over time. In the fourth quarter 2014, Nielsen says U.S. smartphone users accessed 26.7 apps monthly and spent 85% of their time on mobile devices within apps—for a total of 37 hours and 28 minutes per month on average.
Not only have apps brought new opportunities for user experience, they have also awakened a slew of advertising opportunities, many that utilize device capabilities and audience data without disrupting user experience— fact, through employing relevant targeting (e.g., audience, location) and smart formats advertising may even enhance the app experience. However, publishers are still struggling to drive revenue at scale from apps as their desktop traffic flees to mobile. Maintaining a high level of user experience while monetizing audience has proven quite the challenge.
The AdMonsters Mobile App Advertising Playbook will examine the nuances of mobile app advertising, including the central role of user experience in developing app monetization strategies and how this applies to deploying various formats. In addition, we’ll examine mobile ad serving and technology partners, as well as the intricacies of tech integration. Finally, we’ll examine best practices for using a variety of data (audience, location, etc.) in ad targeting within mobile apps.