After a tough 2009, advertisers are expected to increase mobile and digital marketing budgets over the next year. With this in mind, it’s essential that advertisers keep up-to-date on their options in the mobile space.

Here, we’ve laid out five mobile advertising trends to watch over the coming year…Read More…

…there’s further evidence that the mobile news audience mirrors a classic early-adopter profile. For instance, they’re more likely to buy new products first and influence others on choice. They’re ambitious, motivated and take risks. They’re decision-makers and trendsetters. …Read More

According to the survey, nearly one-third of advertisers say that mobile advertising is the focus of their interactive spend, up 107% compared to the first quarter of 2010…Read More

Here’s a quick overview of the stats.

The Google powered OS is the only one of the bunch that has shown significant growth in the period under analysis. comScore stats on the UK / European market aren’t yet released but we can expect to see a similar pattern emerging.
As a result we’ve responded by updating our Android SDK. This means that it is now even easier to develop great bespoke rich media ad formats for the broadest possible smartphone base including iPhone, Blackberry etc.
Moreover, last month we announced the launch of our Engagement Platform to develop our own mobile advertising proposition in line with the advances in handset technology, mobile internet and application usage patterns.

The Engagement Platform is driving mobile advertising forward by delivering deep engagement tools, techniques and rich media ad formats that take advantage of the very thing that is driving this market forward, ie, smartphone technology. More than this when you couple the Engagement Platform with premium mobile inventory from great brands such as Vodafone, Shazam, The Guardian and Virgin Mobile and the more recently announced Global Radio and Vouchercloud, the mobile advertising opportunity is as potent, if not more so, than any other channel.
Specifically, the Engagement Platform includes:

• New software developer kits (SDKs) so that advertisers can take full advantage of 4th Screen’s advanced mobile ad formats such as the iSlide, video, intersticials, location, augmented reality and overlays - Now available on iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices
• A separate innovation hub to develop bespoke formats for individual applications and publishers
• Advanced data mining to offer real time campaign planning and segmentation as well as ongoing artificial intelligence to dynamically optimise campaign performance
• Engagement research and reporting as part of integrated mobile campaigns to show the value of mobile beyond the click
• A full suite of campaign planning tools so that advertisers and agencies can plan and create highly targeted campaigns based on audience profiles, location and time for example
• Access to 4th Screen’s premium global publisher network which includes a global inventory of premium publishers in Europe, North America, South Africa and Asia

So, if the future of smartphone technology is increasingly based on a much wider choice of handsets, then brands and agencies need to really get to grips with how engagement can work as a central component of any campaign and deliver advertising that has relevancy and user experience at its core, going well beyond the static banner/ blind ad-network model.

Mobile discount service Vouchercloud has launched an advertising service that enables brands to buy in-app inventory or sponsor app sections.

Vouchercloud developer Invitation Digital confirmed it will launch the ad model this week and roll it out across further mobile platforms shortly.

Douglas Templeton, co-founder and director of Invitation Digital, said, “We’re refining our strategy, making it easier for consumers to personalise the service, which will enable brands to target consumers more easily.”

Invitation Digital is negotiating with brands that have already issued vouchers via Vouchercloud, including Burger King, Gap and Odeon, to purchase the new ad inventory. However, Templeton didn’t say which companies were considering it.

The ads will be served by mobile sales house 4th Screen advertising. MD Mark Slade said, “This is a good way for brands to reach customers in a specific purchasing mindset and by location using the app’s GPS abilities.”

Invitation Digital will launch an Android version of Vouchercloud in July or August. It’s also planning an SMS service to will let brands access mobile users without smartphones.

Templeton said the Vouchercloud iPhone app has been downloaded 560,000 times since its February launch and generated 250,000 voucher redemptions by May.

4th Screen will be selling its iSlide expandable and carousel advertising banners, as well as pre-roll audio ads and complete sponsorship deals across the entire Global Radio portfolio, which includes the Heart and Galaxy networks, Classic FM, Capital FM and LBC. Read More…

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