Perhaps the three most important drivers for mobile domination have happened this year.
The first was Google’s mobile-friendly update back in April. Brands with websites not optimized for mobile have suffered a 10 percent dip in traffic, according to the Adobe Digital Index that examined the change since Google introduced its new methodology.
When a publisher like BuzzFeed works on a native ad with a brand like American Airlines for example, it’s not just to create excellent native content that its readership will enjoy — it is created to make the content go viral in order to maximize the opportunities to see.
Secondly, when it comes to the growth of digital advertising, mobile is the fastest growing sector. Advertisers are investing heavily in mobile ads with eMarketer stating that $68.69 billion will be spent on mobile advertising (up from $42.68 billion in 2014) and by 2016 this figure will rise to $100 billion, with mobile accounting for 51.1 percent of all digital ad spend.
Thirdly, there is the importance of adult video which is raised in the latest research from Juniper in its “Digital Adult Content: Market Trends, Forecasts and Revenue Opportunities 2015-2020.”
The report states that adult smartphone users will each watch an average of 348 porn videos on their devices in 2015. In total, the researchers estimate that 136 billion adult content videos will be watched on smartphones this year. They go on to predict that the number will increase by a further 55 percent over the next five years, to 193 billion videos.
The increase will be more significant in developing markets as Wi-Fi and 4G technologies become more widely available. The rise will be less steep in Western Europe, however net growth will be at its greatest in the U.S.
So with this market growing exponentially, and as an advertiser being new to mobile advertising here are some guidelines to help you understand some of the more popular formats in the wonderful world of mobile advertising.
How to Target the Mobile Customer
One of the most appealing features of mobile advertising is its capability for very precise customer targeting. Depending on the ad network you use, you can target ads by mobile carrier, device type (iPhone, Android, etc.), device manufacturer, smartphone or tablet, Wi-Fi or3G/4G, country/location, language.
In addition, using day-parting you can schedule ads to run only during specific times of the day, so think about when your target consumers will be most likely to be watching porn and target the time zone that they are in to maximise your conversions.
Select the publisher sites you want to advertise on carefully, firstly is their site mobile friendly, what kind of ad spots are they offering, how many daily impressions are they generating, does the site have the quality traffic that will drive your conversions, which GEOs is the site popular in.
Most importantly, marketers who have plenty of data about their customers and target audience often make the mistake of targeting too narrowly on mobile, which means you may be eliminating many potential leads. So the key is to know your audience, target broadly and then examine your conversion data and then use that knowledge to refine your targeting. It is important that you work with an ad network that provides you with all the data and tools to analyse that data in order to make the right decisions, otherwise you will be working blind.
Mobile Ad Formats
With the massive growth in in-app advertising there are scores of innovative ad formats to choose from, but as we are concentrating on adult here I will cover the most important and popular formats.
Mobile ads have progressed to such an extent that they are more or less the same as desktop ads are, however bear in mind because of the screen size, they are obviously going to be smaller. By far the most popular ad format is the mobile popunder which appears hidden behind the main browser window. Once displayed, the popunder remains unnoticed until the main browser window is closed, leaving the user’s attention free for the advertisement. Display banners generally come in two sizes 300x100 and 300x250, these banners can be placed at the top, middle or bottom of the screen.
In-app advertising is pretty limited for adult on the main app stores (GooglePlay and Apple) except for bikini content apps. Remember that your advertising and landing page should also be bikini level content. Ad network ExoClick has and in app android SDK which places sticky banners in apps, these banners are called “sticky” because as the consumer scrolls down the screen the sticky banner stays in the same position ensuring high visibility.
Instant messages are typically a copy of the instant messenger chat box that you see on desktop. This ad format appears to users by displaying an ad at the bottom of the mobile page which is very efficient for dating and live cam products.
Mobile redirects are similar to popunders but they redirect the consumer to an advertisement page instead of the website page. But this is a format which is tending to be used less and less.
Regarding video related ads, although not a video ad itself, the under-video player is a banner that sits underneath the player of video content, another format is similar to what you have seen on You Tube where an in video banner ads appear on the video screen itself. Embedded video ads are placed at the beginning of a video, just like a video advert, this format is predicted to be the fastest growing form of video advertising, according to Medialets they feature in 56 percent of all rich media campaigns.
Native advertising has been a buzzword in the industry for some time now and is basically sponsored content created by the publisher you want to run the ads with. In September 2014 Rubicon and inMobi conducted a Mobile Native Advertising Survey, discovering that the demand for mobile native ads is larger than ever and it’s expected to grow further throughout 2015. Why? Because, the survey discovered that native mobile ads deliver six-times greater conversions for brands and marketers over traditional banner ads.
When a publisher like BuzzFeed works on a native ad with a brand like American Airlines for example, it’s not just to create excellent native content that its readership will enjoy — it is created to make the content go viral in order to maximize the opportunities to see.
I hope that this article has helped you to be more informed about the current statistics within the mobile advertising industry and has inspired you to explore this highly lucrative advertising channel.
Oliver Crane is business development director at MobileCashout, which provides mobile traffic monetization solutions, paysites and Android applications with integrated carrier billing solutions. Visit MobileCashout.com for more information.
