Just when you thought customizing your creative message to suit various media is tough enough here is news: there is another new medium – the iPhone. I had said earlier that thanks to the revolutionary App Store concept, the way people use phones is going to change. Fundamentally, the user experience with the iPhone is richer and engaging. Regular mobile ads will perhaps mar or dilute the experience. There are many smartphones out there and hordes of people calling the iPhone over-hyped and over-priced because it lacks some features other phones have. But I feel it still provided arguably the best user experience. Now thanks to the App Store developers can enhance the experience with both free & paid apps. No prizes for guessing which version will be popular. As developer it is a dilemma – go after volumes but earn no money or earn money through a small base of paid app users? How can advertisers & agencies play a role here? Ads of course. Here is where Medialets comes into play.
Medialets has launched an ad platform that lets developers using this service to embed creative ads directly into their native applications. As this article says: The apps running Medialets will help brands and agencies find ways to offer audiences what are called “branded experiences.” For example, an ad agency promoting professional racing might sponsor a branded racing game for their company or an app that lets fans track race stats and connect with other racing fans. Also, because location awareness is built-in to the 3G iPhone, applications that help people connect with nearby friends or find nearby businesses are also possible. There is a fit with the audience too. As the Medialets site says: Typical iPhone users are social influencers apt to share experiences with peers. They are highly engaged trendsetters with household income 40% higher than the U.S. median. The numbers are beginning to look attractive too. Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research last week published some interesting statistics on the sale of the first 1 Million 3G iPhones.
With 20 more countries getting the iPhone on Aug 22nd (including India), the numbers are likely to grow. In India, the impact is likely to be minimal for advertisers & agencies. But in time to come, the we could be forced to take into account the opportunity that advertising in iPhone apps provides.
[ad#ad-5]