Switch to our mobile siteThe mobiThinking guide to mobile advertising networks 2013: Blind mobile ad networks
Feb 2013: This guide profiles 22 of the most important mobile ad networks. This section looks at seven leading blind networks in detail: Adfonic (updated), LeadBolt, InMobi, Madvertise, BuzzCity, Admoda/Adultmoda and Mojiva.
• GUIDE HOME • BLIND NETWORKS • PREMIUM BLIND NETWORKS • PREMIUM NETWORKS • LOCAL AD NETWORKS • AFFILIATE AND CPA NETWORKS •
SECTION 1: BLIND NETWORKS
- Adfonic * Updated: Febuary 2013 *
- LeadBolt * New: April 2012 *
- InMobi * Updated: January 2012 *
- Madvertise * New: March 2011 *
- BuzzCity * Updated: January 2011 *
- Admoda/Adultmoda * Updated: September 2010 *
- Mojiva * New: September 2010 *
Blind networks in a nutshell:
• Usually the largest in terms of publishers, advertisers and impressions. They serve a high volume of advertising to an extensive base of mostly independent mobile publishers (mobile sites and applications), supplemented by premium publishers’ unfilled inventory.
• Advertisers can not (usually) choose specific mobile sites.
• Plenty of options for targeting such as by country and content channels (news, sports etc).
• Performance advertising is the norm, paid for by cost per click (CPC) – this is for marketers who want an active response to their ads such as clicking through a banner to the advertiser’s site, click to download/call etc. The CPC varies with supply and demand, determined through a self-service auction system.
• Some blind networks also offer brand advertising, on a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) model – i.e. you pay X for every 1,000 devices that visit/download the page – this is for marketers that want exposure, maybe to create awareness of a new product.
• A few blind networks also offer cost-per-action (CPA) where advertisers specify the type of action they wish to achieve from mobile advertising and specify the price they are willing to pay for each conversion. For more information see: Affiliate and CPA networks.
• The cheapest option is run of network (RON) adverts (i.e. no targeting), which in some countries may start at US $0.01 CPC.
• Advertisers should expect a wealth of self-service tools that help you track and optimize your campaign in real time.
• Publishers receive a revenue share, perhaps 55-65% of what the advertiser pays.
• Back to mobiThinking mobile ad network guide
• What’s the best mobile ad network for you? 10 important questions to ask
Mobile advertising network: Adfonic
Type of network: Blind.
Established: Founded in 2008, service launched July 2009.
Main offices: London, UK (HQ); Madrid, Spain; Munich, Germany; New York, USA; Paris, France; and Singapore.
Employees: 60.
Recent news:
• October 2012: Adfonic introduces madison, the smarter mobile demand side platform (DSP). • April 2012: Adfonic releases latest SDK for iOS and Android.
• April 2012: Adfonic launches integrated mobile video advertising.
• February 2012: Adfonic launches rich media mobile advertising.
• February 2012: Adfonic expands into Asia, with Singapore office.
• September 2011: Adfonic raises US $7.5 million to drive global expansion.
• More news: here.
Major shareholders: Privately held, backed by private investors such as Gordon Shields.
Acquisitions: N/A.
Web: adfonic.com; Mobile Web: N/A.
Profile submitted by: Victor Malachard, CEO, Adfonic.
Contact details: emma.burridge (at) adfonic.com.
Last updated: February 2013.
Q1. Annual revenue/turnover: Band C (US $10-20 million).
Q2. Is the business profitable? Yes.
Q3. Publishers on network: Over 40,000 publishers Publishers include: N/A.
Q4. Advertisers on network: Over 4,000 campaigns per month (May 2012). Examples of advertisers include: Sky, Warner Bros, Peugeot, Samsung, eBay, McDonalds, Tesco, Yell, Groupon and Google.
Q5. Case studies: Tesco; Poynt ; Yell.com; FooCall.
Q6. Mobile ads served/ad impressions monthly: Over 100 billion monthly ad requests.
Q7. Unique mobile users that see ads: Approximately 200 million.
Q8. Geographical coverage: Split by region: North America (29%), South America (7%), UK (25%), Europe (4%), Asia (34%).
Video: Introducing Adfonic
Proportion of advertising that is…
Q9. Blind v premium advertising: 70:30.
Q10. Mobile Web v mobile applications: 30:70.
Q11. CPC (performance) v CPM (brand): 80:20.
Q12. Specialism by publisher or demographic: iOS and Android traffic is particularly strong on the Adfonic network.
Q13. Options for targeting ads: Advertisers can select audiences by gender, age, country, location, mobile device, platform and content channel. Madison DSP users benefit from additional RTB exchange and publisher transparency and targeting.
Q14. Tools to help advertisers optimize/track campaign: Advertisers use real-time reporting to track and optimize the performance of on-going campaigns. The level of detail in the reporting provides a truly transparent view, including the ability to track right down to creative level to see the number of clicks and impressions by device and country for each campaign. Adfonic also offers app-install tracking enabling advertisers to calculate the exact cost of customer acquisition.
Q15. Cost range for advertiser: Prices are set by the Adfonic market place. Prepaid advertisers must fund their account with a minimum of US $50.00 via PayPal or Credit Card on the Website; postpaid customers are subject to a credit check. The CPC price range (min-max bid is: Western Europe US $0.10 to $0.40; North American and Australia $0.05 to $0.27; Rest of the World $0.03 to $0.25.
Q16. Estimated ROI for advertiser: CTR varies from campaign to campaign. The average CTR across the network is 0.7%, but campaigns from well-known brands can achieve a CTR of over 2%.
Q17. Remuneration for publishers: Publishers get 60% net revenue share.
Q18. Fill rate: Publishers on the Adfonic can expect fill rates of up to 98% for iOS and Android app traffic.
Q19. Protection for publishers: Publishers can control all ads displayed on their sites or apps via the ad management console. Adfonic gives publishers visibility of country and platform targeted by the campaigns.
Q20. Tools for publishers: SDK V 2.0 for iOS and Android, including support for rich media (MRAID), UDID alternatives and full-page ad units. Multiple integration options, including server API, Real-time bidding (RTB) and sample code. Full technical documentation on Developer wiki. Publisher APIs offering full flexibility over the type of ads requested and the way they are returned, for example XML, JSON, URL encoded or raw HTML.
Q21. Special relationships with agencies, telcos, portals etc: N/A.
Q22. Links to research: Adfonic Global Mobile AdMetrics Report.
Q23. Main competitors: Admob, InMobi, Millennial Media.
Q24. Industry associations or industry accreditations or awards:
• Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK Leadership Council.
• Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) USA Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence.
• Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).
Q25. Industry awards:
• Red Herring Europe 2012 Finalist.
• Guardian Awards for Digital Innovation 2012 Shortlist, Best Startup Leader.
• Startups Awards 2011 Angel or VC-backed Business of the Year.
• Mobile Entertainment Awards 2011 Finalist.
• Effective Mobile Marketing Awards 2011 Shortlist.
Q26. Key differentiation: Adfonic is the smarter mobile advertising buying platform that gives advertisers and agencies broad access to global mobile web and app inventory through a single buying point.
• Back to mobiThinking mobile ad network guide
• What’s the best mobile ad network for you? 10 important questions to ask
Mobile advertising network: LeadBolt
Type of network: Blind (focused on in-app advertising, with CPA advertising available).
Established: 2010.
Main offices: Sydney, Australia (HQ); Los Angeles, USA.
Employees: 21.
Major shareholders: The company is privately held and self-funded.
Acquisitions: N/A.
Web: leadbolt.com. Mobile Web: leadbolt.com/m.
Contact details: Support (at) leadbolt.com.
Recent news:
• April 2012: LeadBolt releases Marmalade compatibility library.
• March 2012: Leadbolt joins mobile commerce standard initiative.
• February 2012: LeadBolt introduces app advertising icon.
• February 2012: LeadBolt’s launches Basic4android compatibility library.
Profile submitted by: Dale Carr, CEO, LeadBolt
Last updated: April 2012.
Q1. Annual revenue/turnover: Band C (US $10-20 million).
Q2. Is the business profitable? Yes.
Q3. Publishers on network: Over 10,000. Publishers include: Dolphin Browser; MyYearBook.
Q4. Advertisers on network: Over 1,000. Advertisers include: Amobee, NgMoco.
Q5. Case studies: N/A.
Q6. Mobile ads served/ad impressions monthly: Over 1 billion.
Q7. Unique mobile users that see ads: N/A.
Q8. Geographical coverage: 128 Countries including US, South America, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa.
Video: an introduction to types of mobile ad formats from LeadBolt. The profile continues below.
Proportion of advertising that is…
Q9. Blind v premium advertising: 100% blind network.
Q10. Mobile Web v mobile applications: 5:95.
Q11. CPC (performance) v CPM (brand) v CPA (cost per action/installation): 75:0:25.
Q12. Specialism by publisher or demographic: Andriod and iPhone apps.
Q13. Options for targeting ads: Location, category, content type, device manufacturer, device model, device OS, placement type, carrier, connection type, offer type.
Q14. Tools to help advertisers optimize/track campaign: Real-time reporting, optimization option, split testing, auto optimization, language optimization, landing page optimization parameters.
Q15. Cost range for advertiser: Minimum CPC US $0.05.
Q16. Estimated ROI for advertiser: Click-through rate (CTR) varies with type of ad, can be as high as 5-10%.
Q17. Remuneration for publishers: Publisher receives 60-90%.
Q18. Fill rate: In the US, 95%.
Q19. Protection for publishers: Publishers choose which ad category they’re prepared to accept. Support team approves all ads from advertisers for appropriate content.
Q20. Tools for publishers: Fully-featured self-managed publisher portal including ad control and configuration, reporting, account information and FAQ.
Q21. Special relationships with agencies, telcos, portals etc: Yes, several agencies.
Q22. Agencies or other intermediary clients? Nexage, Fetch, Amobee.
Q23. Main competitors: Google, InMobi, Millenial Media and other ad networks.
Q24. Membership of industry associations, industry accreditations or awards: Awards:
• Premier NSW Export Award 2011 Finalist, Innovation.
• ActionCOACH My Business Awards 2011 Finalist, Startup.
• SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Award 2011 Winner.
• Cool Company Awards 2011 Finalist, Online Business.
Q25. Key differentiation:
• Unique focus on premium ad types;
• Most diverse range of ad types in industry to monetize the entire app usage cycle;
• Advanced, real-time, self serve, user friendly advertiser and publisher portals;
• Customer service;
• High eCPM (Effective cost per thousand impressions).
• Back to mobiThinking mobile ad network guide
• What’s the best mobile ad network for you? 10 important questions to ask
Mobile advertising network: InMobi (formally mKhoj)
Type of network: Blind
Established: 2007
Main offices: Bangalore, India (HQ); San Francisco, New York, USA; London, UK; Singapore; Sydney, Australia; and Nairobi, Kenya.
Employees: Over 400.
Major shareholders: Private company backed by venture capital from Softbank Corp (US $200 million); and Sherpalo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers ($15.1 million).
Acquisitions: Sprout (August 2011).
Mobile enabled site: inmobi.com
Contact details: contact form or email: info(at)inmobi.com.
Recent news:
• August 2011: InMobi introduces HTML5 rich media ads with Sprout acquisition.
• September 2011: SoftBank Corp invests US $200 million in InMobi.
• June 2011: InMobi and Cooliris launch World’s first mobile 3D ad campaign.
• May 2011: InMobi launches SmartPay global mobile payments.
• More news: here.
Last updated: January 2012.
Q1. Annual revenue/turnover: Band E (US $50-100 million).
Q2. Is the business profitable? N/A (InMobi is unable to disclose this information, but it does believe firmly that mobile is in the "investment" stages and any other strategy is sub-optimal for achieving the full market potential of the company).
Q3. Publishers on network: Over 10,000 publishers on the network. Publishers include: Disney, Nestle, P&G, Nike, Nokia, Unilever, Samsung, Nissan, Dell, Yamaha, BlackBerry, Intel, Coca Cola, Sony Ericsson, eBay, ngmoco.
Q4. Advertisers on network: Over 2,000 advertisers on the network generating over 10,000 campaigns. Advertisers include: FOX, Zynga, ngmoco, Ask.com, Google, glu, eHow, photobucket, ebuddy, NFL, Opera Software, Citysearch, ROVIO, newtoy, GetJar.
Q5. Case studies: here.
Q6. Mobile ads served/ad impressions monthly: 50.4 billion (September 2011).
Q7. Unique mobile users that see ads: Network reaches 340 million consumers.
Q8. Geographical coverage : Top 10 countries by ad impressions in September 2011: India 23%; USA 12%; Indonesia 8%; Japan 4%; Canada 4%; Vietnam 3%; UK 3%; South Africa 2%; Nigeria 1.196 2%; Saudi Arabia 2%.
Video: InMobi Mobile Media Consumption Research Q4 2011.
Proportion of advertising that is…
Q9. Blind v premium advertising: 100% blind network. Advertisers can target groups of sites or categories of content, but cannot select a specific site.
Q10. Mobile Web v mobile applications: 83:17.
Q11. CPC (performance) v CPM (brand): 90:10.
Q12. Specialism by publisher or demographic: InMobi is an independent broad based network covering 10,000 devices globally.
Q13. Options for targeting ads: a) OS/device/carrier; b) Content & category; d) Demographic; e) Geo-location; f) Time of day; g) Custom persona.
Q14. Tools to help advertisers optimize/track campaign: InMobi Analytics is based on world-class tracking and optimization technology, providing detailed reporting on the campaign to the advertiser. This data is also used to improve ad serving performance in real-time with an automated feedback loop.
Q15. Cost range for advertiser: US $0.02 – $1.00.
Q16. Estimated ROI for advertiser: CTR varies dramatically, but generally ranges from 0.5% to 2%.
Q17. Remuneration for publishers: InMobi’s standard revenue share is 60% to publishers, 40% InMobi. Developers are able to get up to 75% through InMobi’s World Developer Fund initiative by integrating its SDK.
Q18. Fill rate: InMobi does not release fill rates, but currently most countries are inventory constrained. Premium publishers and developers will run close to 100% in the current market.
Q19. Protection for publishers: Full protection is available. InMobi offers detailed filtering by brand, content type, and even a manual review process if needed. InMobi also has rigid guidelines and a formal ad review process to confirm accuracy from advertisers.
Q20. Tools for publishers: InMobi offers full control to publishers with detailed filtering and reporting options. Publishers also have a range of integration options from API to SDK depending on the content type.
Q21. Special relationships with agencies, telcos, portals etc: InMobi has a multi-million dollar partnership with Amobee. Through its mobile payments product SmartPay, InMobi has carrier billing ties to 40 telcos in 8 countries. It has joint marketing agreements with GetJar, Sega, Box.net, Vodafone, Ansca Mobile, Cooliris and Papaya Mobile.
Q22. Links to research: Mobile advertising reports • Media kits • Consumer reports • White papers (all require registration to view).
Q23. Main competitors: Google Mobile.
Q24. Industry associations or industry accreditations:
• Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) global member and platinum sponsor, serving on the global board and regional boards and on multiple committees including measurement and analytics, research, privacy and creative guidelines.
• Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) global member and global research partner; executives serves on Europe and Asia board.
• Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) global member; serving on multiple committees including measurement and analytics, research, privacy and creative guidelines.
Q25. Industry awards:
• MMA Global Mobile Marketing Awards EMEA Regional Winner; Innovation.
• The Mobi Awards 2011 Best Mobile Ad Network.
• AlwaysOn Global 250, 2011.
Q26. Key differentiation: 1) InMobi is the world's largest independent mobile ad network, delivering massive global reach with local market expertise to brands and agencies in Europe, America, Asia Pacific and Africa. 2) Consumers enjoy immersive, engaging creative experiences through InMobi’s technology on 10,000+ devices around the world both in-app and on mobile web. These experiences range from high reach and frequency display ads to engaging rich media to truly innovative 3D advertising available exclusively on InMobi’s network. 3) InMobi Analytics not only tracks and reports the success of mobile advertising campaigns in depth, but also uses the data in real-time to improve the ad serving process.
• Back to mobiThinking mobile ad network guide
• What’s the best mobile ad network for you? 10 important questions to ask
Mobile advertising network: Madvertise
Type of network: Blind.
Specialization: Europe, particularly strong in German-speaking countries.
Established: 2008.
Main offices: Berlin, Germany.
Employees: over 30 (growing to 75 by the end of 2011).
Major shareholders: Team Europe Ventures (Seed Investor and Series A Investor); Earlybird Venture Capital (Series A Investor); Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) .
Acquisitions: N/A.
Web: madvertise.de.
Mobile Web: N/A.
Contact details: pr(at)madvertise.de.
Recent news:
• 2011: Madvertise Developer Fund gives publishers 100% of ad revenue.
• 2011: madvertise brings rich-media ads to German smartphones.
• 2010: katAPPult service guarantees a top 25 place across Europe for apps.
• 2010: Madvertise secures series A funding.
Profile submitted by: Carsten Frien, CEO, Madvertise. • Read this interview.
Last updated: March 2011.
Q1. Annual revenue/turnover: Band A (US $1-5 million).
Q2. Is the business profitable? N/A.
Q3. Publishers on network: Over 500.
Q4. Advertisers on network: Around 80% of all mobile advertisers, including Ford, Continental, TUI and Foot Locker (see these case studies).
Q5. Mobile ads served/ad impressions monthly:
700 Million page impressions.
Q6. Unique mobile users that see ads: N/A.
Q7. Geographical coverage: Germany, Austria, Switzerland 60%, rest of EU 40%.
Proportion of advertising that is…
Q8. Blind v premium advertising: 100% blind network.
Q9. Mobile Web v mobile applications: 50:50.
Q10. CPC (performance) v CPM (brand): 80:20.
Q11. Specialism by publisher or demographic: Traditionally Madvertise focused on German-speaking publishers/countries, now covers whole of EU.
Q12. Options for targeting adverts: Mobile handset (manufacturer, model, operating system); audience demographic; content channels (finances, automobile, entertainment, news, sports, travel, business, technology); time (day of week, time of day); location (country, city, zip code specifications); frequency (capping); access technology (WIFI, operator network).
Q13. Tools to help advertisers optimize/track campaign: Full control over ad campaigns served; real-time reporting.
Q14. Cost range for advertiser: Minimum ad spend of €2,500 (US $3,532).
Q15. Estimated ROI for advertiser: N/A.
Q16. Remuneration for publishers: The usual revenue split is 60:40. However Madvertise is currently running the €5 million (US $7.07 million) Madvertise development fund which grants 100% of ad revenues to publisher (mobile Web or app), until the fund is used up or February 2012. Thereafter the revenue split is 60:40.
Q17. Fill rate: N/A.
Q18. Protection for publishers: N/A.
Q19. Tools for publishers: N/A.
Q20. Membership of industry associations, industry accreditations or awards: Members of Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW).
Q21. Main competitors: On the international level, Google AdMob and Apple iAd (was Quattro Wireless) have a similar business model, but neither are particularly well-established in European markets, yet.
Q22. Key differentiation: With the help of the unique “KatAPPult” service, Madvertise guarantees to catapult application into the top 25 in the respective category and country, in the Apple App Store, maximizing download and monetization potentialities.
The Madvertise mobile-only ad server is hand built by German engineers, this make it the “BMW of mobile ad servers” and ensures that all campaigns are fast and efficient. Also, our technology team can implement innovative targeting and campaign features with a high degree of flexibility, which allows Madvertise to remain ahead of developments in the mobile advertising business.
• Back to mobiThinking mobile ad network guide
• What’s the best mobile ad network for you? 10 important questions to ask
Mobile advertising network: BuzzCity
Type of network: Blind
Established: Network 2006; company 1999.
Main offices: Singapore (HQ); Mumbai, India; Bangkok, Thailand; Paris, France; Johannesburg, South Africa; Los Angeles; USA, Jakarta; Indonesia
Employees: 70.
Major shareholders: Naspers/MIH 36%; OWW Capital Partners (34%); BuzzCity management (15%).
Acquisitions: N/A.
Web: buzzcity.com.
Mobile Websites: m.mygamma.com (mobile social network); m.djuzz.com (games portal); m.now-cook.com (food/recipe portal); m.jamsked.com (directory of international music events..
Contact details: buzzcity.com/f/contactus.
Recent news:
• 2011: BuzzCity’s Global Mobile Advertising Traffic grows by 93% in 2010.
Profile submitted by: KF Lai, CEO, BuzzCity. • Read this interview.
Last updated: January 2011.
Q1. Annual revenue/turnover: Band C) US $10-20 million.
Q2. Is the business profitable? YES
Q3. Publishers on network: 3,000 publishers. They are predominantly independent and mobile-focused; they range from mobile social networking to ad-supported download. BuzzCity manages media traffic for independent portals including Peperonity.mobi; eBuddy.mobi and various premium/carrier portals, including AIS, Thailand; Celcom, Malaysia; Airtel, India; Globe, Philippines, via syndication of entertainment content.
Q4. Advertisers on network: Over 300 regular advertisers. These are predominantly mobile companies (70%), although campaigns by brand advertisers include MTN (ZA carrier) and Celcom (MY carrier), Air Asia, Sri Lankan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Toyota, Renault, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, Standard Bank (S Africa), Crédit Agricole (FR), Mutuelles de Mans Assurances (FR), Hewlett Packard, Nokia, BlackBerry.
Q5. Mobile ads served/ad impressions monthly: More than 5 billion ads served per month.
Q6. Unique mobile users that see ads: N/A.
Q7. Geographical coverage: 200 countries in total, with top countries being Indonesia (24%), India (24%), USA (6%), South Africa (3%) (November 2010). For the most recent top 10 countries, with reach, ads served, minimum and recommended bid, handset, location and demographic information for each country, see: Campaign Planner.
Proportion of advertising that is…
Q8. Blind v premium advertising: 100% blind network.
Q9. Mobile Web v mobile applications: 95:5.
Q10. CPC (performance) v CPM (brand): 95:5.
Q11. Specialism by publisher or demographic: All publishers, though majority are mobile-only services. The audience is primarily users whose experience of the internet is via mobiles.
Q12. Options for targeting adverts: Specific content channels, countries, devices, mobile platforms and other features e.g. phone make, models, flash or MP3 capability. Planned updates include applications and games channels.
Q13. Tools to help advertisers optimize/track campaign:
• A Campaign planner shows trends in markets, demographics of mobile Web users and handsets (see above);
• The ad server highlights banners with a high CTR and allows ‘on-the-fly’ changes to targeting sets;
• A conversion tracker which shows which campaigns yield better ROIs.
Q14. Cost range for advertiser: For untargeted campaigns: average CPC across network is US $0.04; average CPC in South Africa - US $0.12; United States - US $0.19; United Kingdom - US $0.09.
Q15. Estimated ROI for advertiser: CTR. As a guideline, the cost of acquisition for member recruitment campaigns for myGamma (BuzzCity owned social network) is US $0.50/subscriber in South Africa, US $0.25 in United Kingdom and US $1.80 in the United States.
Q16. Remuneration for publishers: Publishers get 65% of placement. Top publishers deliver approximately 60 million ad impressions a day earning approximately US $7,000 per day.
Q17. Fill rate: The BuzzCity ad network currently runs on a 100% fill rate.
Q18. Protection for publishers: Publishers can choose which advertisers/banners they want to appear on their pages
Q19. Tools for publishers: Publishers choose which pages to place ads on; graphical or text banners; and set a minimum preferred bid.
Q20. Membership of industry associations:
Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).
Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF).
Q21. Industry accreditations or awards:
• National Infocomm Authority Award Winner (2008): Most Innovative Infocomm Service for myGamma.
• Future Mobile Awards (2008): Silver award for myGamma.
• Mobile Content Awards (2008)
• Global Mobile Awards (2008): Best Mobile Social Network for myGamma.
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