Google Reinvents Its Mobile Search Ads

Read original article on: Wall Street Journal

As mobile search overtakes desktop in 10 global markets including the U.S. and Japan, Google saw a great opportunity to unveil its new image-based mobile ad formats that are built to stand out in search results. Designed to work with touches and swipes common on mobile devices, the redesigned ad formats would presumably work better on the smaller screens of mobile gadgets than keyword-based links and blurbs.

Moreover, the Mountain View-based company also launched three new ad units to target hotel brands, automakers, and retailers, and plans to leverage relevant data like hotel bookings and availability into the new ad formats. Considering Google’s dominance in the search market and the vast data it possesses, the company seems well positioned to race Facebook in mastering personalized ad targeting.

 

Newest Development In Targeted Advertising: Political Ads

In the upcoming election, you might just get served with targeted political ads based on whether you lean left or right. Both parties are reportedly utilizing a new TV ad targeting system from DirecTV and Dish that takes advantage of public voter records to put personalized campaign ads on their DVRs at the household level. This new ad program promises to deliver a customized audience for statewide races and issue-based campaigns. 

Foursquare To Share Check-in Data With 3rd Parties

Foursquare began pitching digital agencies on a new advertising product that would utilize Foursquare’s location and behavioral data to contextualize ads on other platforms. The product itself is still in development, but it will eventually allow advertisers to use Foursquare data to target ads purchased through ad exchanges or networks. This will mark Foursquare’s first attempt to generate revenue outside of its trademark app. Prior ad efforts only netted the company $2 million, and with heightened pressure on the now-burgeoning startup, the race is on to prove it can generate enough revenue to justify its sky-high valuations. These new developments mesh with the update released on Wednesday that aims to make local discovery, not check-ins, its primary function. It seems as though many agencies are willing to pay for this sort of data for targeted ads, and with the company positioning itself as, “the location layer for the Internet,” more than 40,000 developers have integrated Foursquare’s location database into their apps.