It is estimated that on average close to 4% of online page impressions for desktop formatted web pages is actually viewed on iPad, iPhone, Android-based and similar mobile devices. That portion of traffic is also quickly increasing.

However, the user experience on mobile devices and tablets is different, and as a result online ad campaigns displayed on those web pages get compromised. Sometimes the ads don't fit on the screen, or when users zoom and scroll to the content they are most interested in the ads either disappear or become pixilated.  So what can be done to improve the value of this 'lost' inventory?

The first step to solving the problem is to segregate traffic from mobile devices from that of desktops and laptops.  Advertisers should target smart phones and tablet devices with different ad units versus desktop and laptop computers in their ad server.  Most ad servers don't offer support device targeting so you can setup an external banner with a JavaScript tag that bounces back to an ad server that does.  <shameless plug> Crisp Wireless' Ad Platform is designed specifically to support such capabilities.</end plug>   Also to that purpose, DoubleClick most recently announced an upgrade to DFA to support the targeting of regular desktop banners to specific mobile platforms.  This is definitely a very timely announcement for advertisers who use this product. 

Another very important aspect to improve the effectiveness of campaigns viewed on mobile devices is the ad format itself.  Advertisers should use alternative mobile ad formats that adapt to the zooming and scrolling behavior on touch-screen devices.  Crisp Wireless invented the Adhesion ad format which stays on part of the screen at a pixel perfect resolution regardless all the zooming and scrolling.  Crisp also focuses on providing an easy workflow to agencies and publishers to manage the design differences between mobile and desktop platforms while building rich media ad units and embedding video content.

When using Rich Media ad units from Crisp, all engagement metrics are available in one easy to understand report, which is properly calibrated to provide accurate stats from any mobile platform or desktop browser.

To conclude: It is possible to better leverage the mobile traffic to an online ad campaign when some fairly basic issues are addressed in the setup of the ad units.  Our team at Crisp is addressing these issues in new and innovative ways.  Contact them and they will tell you all about it.

 The release of the iPad, the roll-out of 4G wireless networks with greater bandwidth, and the common availability of unlimited data plans are all driving the consumption and demand for mobile video.  Overall, the number of mobile video users is predicted to increase to 95 million by 2015. 

It is also becoming easier to produce and distribute mobile video.  More mobile phones are in market that support video standards such as the H.264 codec, often represented via HTML5.  This codec balances processor requirements, (battery life,) video quality and content size very well. HTTP Live Streaming technology now makes it easier to deliver dynamic pre/mid/post-roll advertising on Apple devices as well as video streaming via a basic web server infrastructure.  The maturing technology increases available content, expands the audience for mobile video and makes it a more attractive mode of advertising. The advertiser can even reuse online video for mobile creative, driving down production costs.  

However, mobile video has not become the norm just yet.  Today nearly 50% of consumers are using mobile phones that do not support video.  As smartphones continue to become the majority, this balance will shift.

As consumer’s demand for mobile video increases, Crisp Wireless advertisers have increased their interest in mobile video advertising.  Advertisers are looking to use mobile video particularly with the iPad because of the uncompromising experience the device provides.  Also, HTML5 allows for advertisers to embed the video window and provides APIs that give control and tracking capabilities surrounding activities around video play. This week, Apple announced the iPhone 4 with the new iOS 4. We expect this extremely high screen resolution (326 dpi) device to further improve advertiser demand for video.  

Some best practices to consider if you are thinking mobile video advertising are as follows:

• Appropriately encode your video for the type of internet connection you will be utilizing
• Many mobile screens have a 1.5:1 aspect ratio, different from TV 4:3 or movie 16:9, so avoid pillarboxed and letterboxed viewing
• Leverage all of capabilities of the device you will be advertising on
• Avoid fast moving action, small text, and dark shots when creating a mobile video advertisement

In addition, some different formats to consider when designing a mobile video ad include:

• Click-to-video: Link from banner direct to video
• Ad with video: Video embedded in a full page ad, only as part of the creative
• Bumper: Very short video before or after other content
• Pre-roll: Typically about 15 seconds of video commercial before other video
• Mid-roll: Same during content
• Post-roll: Same after content

The outlook of mobile video advertising is filled with potential thanks to the iPad and similar devices allowing advertisers to embed videos and smartphones that support the tap-to-video format.  As more and more smartphones support HTML5 video, costs will continue to deflate, eventually creating a CPM based model for mobile video ads. Premium content providers will continue selling sponsorship advertising for apps, encompassing mobile video ads. 

 Microsoft, Adobe, Apple and many other leading Internet enablers are now all involved in an active debate on how to move forward with content authoring in the multi-platform world.  The launch of the tablet device has prompted an escalating discussion on the merits of technologies like Adobe Flash versus Object C and HTML5. It has taken ridiculous proportions.  While it didn’t bother anyone initially that smart phones often don’t support Flash, with the launch of the Apple iPad, many were starting to question why.  I wrote a blog post on the lack of Flash on the iPhone about a year ago but Steve Job’s comments recently have really exposed the issue in a different light.

HTML5 is a specification for video (H.264), vector animation (canvas), interactive logic (JavaScript) and layout (CSS/HTML).  Adobe Flash also covers video (FLV), vector animation (FLA), interactive logic (ActionScript) and layout.  Aside from the video part which can automatically be converted (be it with some loss of functionality), the other parts of these technologies are absolutely not automatically convertible and aren't even comparable due to vast differences in sophistication.  Flash is far better with animation, while HTML5 is far more efficient in simple content layout.  It has been surprising how many opinions are published where that critical fact is omitted. (Including Steve Jobs open letter)