A newly formed partnership between iPhone analytics firm Pinch Media and mobile search and ad company JumpTap may connect brand-name advertisers with iPhone application users.
The partnership, announced at MobileBeat, could be a formidable force in the tiny but growing world of iPhone application ads. Pinch Media will provide the analytics platform. JumpTap's 35-person salesforce has ties to Madison Avenue, including an investment from ad holding firm giant WPP, and will provide a connection between ad agencies and developers.
Ad networks for iPhone apps have been springing up at a steady click since the launch of the App Store. AdMob, which won Tesla Award for crowd favorite at last week's MobileBeat conference, also announced impressive new features for advertisers on the iPhone. Medialets has been busy creating its own ad network for apps, hoping to separate itself by integrating ads more directly into applications. AppLoop, another app ad network, is emphasizing location-aware metrics for advertisers hoping to use the iPhone's GPS capabilities. PurpleTalk, meanwhile, is attempting to set up an ad network of applications that use splash pages to cross-promote one another, while running smaller ads alongside.
MRM Worldwide, a division of McCann Worldgroup, where he was in charge of digital strategy for clients including General Motors and Microsoft. The company says it reaches about 150 million mobile subscribers currently.
The plan is to fold iPhone app's users into vertical ad audiences that can be sold to brand advertisers. "The iPhone market is still relatively small when it comes to advertising," says Pinch Media's Yardley. "The biggest applications might have a million users. A million users is not a tremendous amount of reach when it comes to doing an ad buy." By bundling together an app's user base with other mobile inventory already represented by JumpTap, developers get a chance to place high-end advertising on their apps, and media buyers can target the ever-so-sexy iPhone user base. This focus on top-tier advertisers puts the company in opposition to AdMob, according to JumpTap's Johar. "AdMob is a great business, but really focused on the self-service market and the long tail of direct response. We are focused on premium content."