Mobile ads have been christened as the holy grail for internet companies, and rightfully so. In a new study by eMarketer, Google is projected to rake in $8.9 billion in mobile ad revenue in 2013, claiming 56 percent of the mobile ad market. 

While other companies like Facebook, Twitter and Pandora are quickly growing their mobile ad revenue as well, their share of the ad pie pales in comparison to Google, which earns one of every two dollars spent on mobile advertising. 

According to the study, Facebook, which came in at a distant second to Google, is learning the ropes rather quickly by streamlining mobile ads into its interface though sponsored and targeted posts. Ad integration is becoming an integral and necessary trait of mobile ads that don't take away from the mobile experience, but enhance it.Continue reading...

Two unlikely global titans have partnered on a “mobile only” media deal whose footprint covers 16 countries, from developed markets in North America and Europe to emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Mondelez International, the CPG giant behind billion-dollar brands like Oreo and Cadbury, announced today that it has inked a landmark deal with Google: a one-year partnership that will include mobile search, display and websites. While financial terms were not released, the deal will include branded mobile websites, training and mobile capability building, analytics and opportunity to opt in to Google's mobile beta programs.Continue reading...

Ardent sports fans love having access to info as it happens. What’s the score right now? Who is winning the race? How many fouls have already been committed?

But answering questions like these along with watching videos of spectacular plays or events can use up a lot of a mobile user’s monthly data plan, but ESPN is apparently considering a way to help those poor sports-obsessed folks out.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, “ESPN is considering a plan to pay wireless carriers for the mobile content used by the sports channel's subscribers.” That way, any usage of ESPN mobile content wouldn’t count against a user’s monthly data plan. Such a deal isn’t imminent, but it has been discussed with at least one major carrier, the Journal notes.Continue reading...

Who knew The Weather Channel was such a hot commodity?

It turns out that the cable network's online and mobile properties are hot beds for advertising trends and a launch pad for hyperlocal marketing initiatives for major advertisers like Taco Bell, Delta Airlines and Jeep.

Twitter and The Weather Channel (TWC) have developed a weather-based ad-targeting product, leveraging 60 percent in the twitterverse that accesses the microblogger via smartphone, to receive Promoted Tweets related to… weather. “Based on certain forecasts, Taco Bell, Seamless, Delta Airlines, Farmers, Goodyear and others have fallen in line with Ace Hardware, targeting nearby consumers via mobile ad networks such as MoPub and Jumptap and—in a lot of cases—TWC's popular smartphone app,” notes AdWeek.Continue reading...

“The Hispanic community is rapidly becoming the most influential voice in pop culture, business, and politics; their trendsetting impact will make or break the success of those seeking to gain brand popularity, market share and / or win the next election,” Forbes reports. 

And nothing demonstrates the cultural prowess of the demographic like the upcoming TV upfronts, broadcasters' annual dog-and-pony show where networks tout their upcoming lineups to advertisers. Both Univision—the No. 1 Hispanic network—and Telemundo, coming off its highest-rated January in network history, will hold upfronts on May 14. Univision’s newly rebranded UniMas, formerly TeleFutura and Galavision will also hold their upfronts that day, while Hispanic broadcaster Azteca has slated its presentation for May 13.

A step ahead of the game, Univision announced Mary Kay, MetroPCS, State Farm and Western Union as sponsors of the original web series, Arranque de Pasión, La Historia de Ela, which premiered April 1.Continue reading...

It’s here, and it’s not just a phone. Facebook's highly anticipated event today confirmed swirling rumors that the social network would release a product closely tied to a mobile device, and that product is Facebook Home.

"We asked ourselves if sharing and connecting are what matter most, what would your phone be like if it put your friends first?" Facebook stated. "Our answer is Home. Home isn't a phone or operating system, and it's also more than just an app. Home is a completely new experience that lets you see the world through people, not apps."Continue reading...

As rumors swirl of CEO Marissa Mayer’s imminent $200 Million spend on the "YouTube-of-Europe," Dailymotion, (valuation around $300 million), her greater plan for the Yahoo brand is coalescing.

During Yahoo’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Mayer said Yahoo’s four areas of focus are search, ads, video, and mobile. “Given that we do not have mobile hardware, a mobile OS, a browser, or a social network, how are we going to compete?” asked Mayer rhetorically during an interview with Bloomberg TV in January.

“I think that the big piece here is that it really allows us to partner. … Our focus, in addition to technology, but also on media, it ultimately means there is an opportunity for strong partnerships. That’s what we’ll be focused on.”Continue reading...

#Hashtags #Are #Coming #To #Facebook

— Team Coco (@TeamCoco) March 14, 2013

Facebook is taking on growing rival Twitter in the hashtag realm by integrating the iconic marker into its own platform as the battle for mobile usage and ad dollars heats up.

The social behemoth is testing allowing users to click on a hashtag to pull up all related posts on a trending topic or event, incentivizing users to stay logged in longer and see more ads. (Instagram, which Facebook acquired last year uses hashtags so users can sort photos.)Continue reading...