Robert Andrews

Once a facilitator of dynamic ad insertion for video downloads, Tel Aviv-based Hiro Media nowadays now offers a range of video distribution and monetization services, leading on its supply-side content platform (SSP). Product VP Oded Napchi says the company is going after slices of the industry left on the table by most others. “The online […]

Many online ad buyers who are now using so-called “programmatic” trading techniques for video are getting excited about the idea of old-fashioned TV using the same digital processes. But  not so fast, says one experienced ad exec. “We can’t have real-time ad deliveries in linear TV – the infrastructure doesn’t support it – that’s many, […]

As online video’s advertising growth gathers steam, the two disciplines from which the format is drawn are converging, according to one ad tech exec. “TV buyers really want to learn from digital, and digital buyers really want to learn from TV,” says Turn emerging media general manager Chris Smith. “You’re starting to see more hybrid roles […]

The last year has seen an evolution in how publishers and broadcasters view the so-called “programmatic” sale of online ad inventory. “Just 12 months ago, a lot of publishers were just viewing programmatic as a remnant solution,” says Mark Trefgarne, CEO of video ad tech platform LiveRail. “The transition we’ve seen is a view towards […]

The problem with the new native advertising concept, according to some display ad veterans, is – how can the format ever hit display’s heights when each new deployment may need to be customized for editorial fit? But Adam Singolda, CEO of a content discovery network that is also trying to deploy native ads, says things […]

BARCELONA — The move to native mobile advertising formats will give a much greater say to one of the most important participants in the mobile app ecosystem, according to mobile ad network InMobi. App developers, until now, didn’t have a say,” says the firm’s head of publisher-side products Krishnendu Majumdar. “If they have to monetize, they’re […]

BARCELONA — The so-called “native advertising” opportunity, which sees straight-up display ads replaced by sponsorships that look like content, may be young – but mobile ad network InMobi is moving aggressively in its direction. “We’re going to break up the banners,” InMobi global strategic partnerships VP Pankaj Bengani tells Beet.TV. “Instead of showing banners to users, […]

BARCELONA — How often is too often for developers to update their mobile apps? “We know companies doing updates at least on a weekly basis just to keep you live,” says Bruce Beckloff, corporate development head at Marmalade, a London agency whose technology helps developers deploy across multiple platform standards. “Everybody sees a little bit […]

BARCELONA — Some may say the ad business is like a soap opera these days – but InMobi thinks it should come in “episodes”. “We came up with an episodic learning platform which uses a methodology to work with consumers campaign-to-campaign,” says mobile ad network InMobi‘s head of products, brand and commerce Preetham Venkatesh. “If […]

BARCELONA — The developer behind some of the biggest mobile social games is offering to help others monetize their apps. “We are taking on third-publishing – that will change our model,” says James Peng, head of user acquisition and monetization at Redwood City, California Dragon Story and Bubble Mania developer Storm8. “We’re helping to launch games […]

BARCELONA — Audio-identifying mobile app Shazam is trying to create a business selling data to advertisers by encouraging users to tag content other than music. “We’re now able to target advertising based on Shazam activity,” CEO Rich Riley tells Beet.TV. “We can do that on Shazam and off Shazam. We can follow a device ID on […]

BARCELONA — Freemium has become the super-dominant app store monetization method, with some 94% of App Store revenue coming from free downloads supporting in-app purchases, according to Distimo’s 2013 Year-End Review. But that doesn’t mean app developers can guarantee success just be deploying in-app goods, says former Guardian News & Media strategy head James Cooper. […]

BARCELONA — If you want to understand apps, you need to understand app users. That’s according to one mobile advertising technologist. “The core of the search era was the keyword, the core of the social era is the stuff you share on social networks,” says InMobi‘s product director Abhishek Bapna. “In the app ecosystem, neither of them are […]

BARCELONA — AOL will soon launch a native advertising unit aimed specifically at mobile publishers, AOL Networks global media director Chad Gallagher told Beet.TV at Mobile World Congress. “We’re going to have a major announcement here in a few weeks about our native solution which we think will be really interesting,” Gallagher said. “If you look […]

BARCELONA — Mobile advertising has come a long way – but it could go a lot further if it truly used mobility as a core planning component. That’s one one mobile exec thinks. “Advertisers don’t have access to cookies. They do have access to location data,” says Tyler Bell, product VP at Factual. “We have a location […]

BARCELONA, Spain — Will the mobile web kill off apps? That is an oft-asked question. Right now, however, the route for advertisers to take is clear, says ad group Mindshare’s chief digital officer Norm Johnston. We’ve moved past the mobile vortex and confusion,” he tells Beet.TV. “But there are still some fundamental issues. “Do brands […]

BARCELONA — WhatsApp’s mega acquisition by Facebook should be welcomed as another pointer that mobile messaging could be a money-spinner, according to one mobile ad exec. (Mobile) will go either toward commerce or toward advertising,” InMobi north America MD Crid Yu tells Beet.TV. “It’s amazing to me that, after all these years, the most commonly […]

BARCELONA  — We’re not just in a “mobile-first” world when it comes to advertising, according to mobile ad network InMobi – smartphone adoption is changing the very nature of ad planning and buying. “People don’t even realize how disruptive mobile is going to be around their media buying,” says InMobi’s global alliances GM Anne Frisbie. […]

Google will invent more resources in 2014 on improving its advertising technologies for buy-side customers, says a Google ad exec. “We spent a little bit more time on the sell side than we did on the buy side from a product development perspective,” Google media platforms sales head Jay VanDerzee tells Beet.TV. “We’re obviously going to continue to do […]

There is no straight line from planning a textual or pictorial display ad campaigns to doing so for video, says one video ad tech exec. “A lot of the technologies that were built and deployed in the online display world don’t translate well in to video,” says Videology‘s development SVP Brent Gaskamp. “Some people have […]