Foreman: 7 App Advertising Models

techwire.net

As the mobile advertising market was predicted to hit $100 billion in 2016, numerous mobile ad companies have sprouted up, wooing developers with various advertising models that can easily be integrated into an app with their software development kit (SDK). Here's a list of seven mobile ad models.

1. Banner Ads

This is what most people think mobile ads are. They typically will occupy the real estate at the top or bottom of an app. If the user taps the ad, all sorts of possibilities open up, from watching a video to the option of downloading an app. I personally think this is a pretty ineffective method of advertising and cheapens your app. Users have become blind to banner ads. The dominant players for banner ads are Google’s AdMob and Chartboost.

2. Interstitial Ads

These are inserted at transition points in an app, like right before an app starts or in the case of a game after a level is complete. It’s like watching a commercial on television. It’s typically a video that can drop the user off to the advertiser’s desired URL or to download another app. Some of the mobile advertisers that use this model include TapJoy, RevMob and Flurry.

3. Rewards Ads

They are my favorite because it’s a win for all involved. The reward is triggered by some event in the app like getting an achievement. The user will see a pop-up where they will get a discount, gift card, coupon, etc. The owner of the app will also get compensated too, making everyone a winner. Players in this space are Kiip and Avocarrot.

4. Offer Walls

These are typically used in games where virtual goods are sold for real currency. The offer wall gives the player the option of earning virtual goods by performing some action on the wall. For example, a player can earn virtual gold by signing up for a trial Netflix account. Mobile advertisers that support Offer Walls are TapJoy, StartApp and Fiksu.

5. Notification Ads

I’m not a big fan of notification ads. Apps that support notification ads act like a Trojan horse (to be fair, users have to opt in), with the ability to push notification ads even when the app is dormant. Notification ads are only supported on Android. My theory is that the reason this type of ad is not supported on iOS is because Apple rejects its Trojan-like nature. AirPush and LeadBolt offer this mechanism.

6. Native Advertising

This is used for apps that are content based and typically show up in the apps’ news feed. Facebook adopted native advertising and has done exceptionally well. This ad model is probably the most effective way to generate revenue. Mobile advertisers that offer native advertising include AdRoll, Sharethrough and PubNative.

 7. Data Collection

When I originally wrote this article, I listed six mobile ad models. Recently, I met the team at Beacons in Space that developed a new revenue model, which essentially collects data about users near beacons. As such, I had to update this article with a new model that I’m calling Data Collection. Essentially, the model passively collects data about the user. Specifically in the case of Beacons in Space, the developer integrates their SDK into their app. After the user downloads the app, it will track when users are near a beacon and rewards the developer accordingly. The biggest downside is that the app will ask the user to enable location-based services for the app. It’s not a big deal if the app already uses location services, but if it doesn’t, it may set up a red flag for the user. The upside is that this model doesn’t change the user experience.

What restaurateurs can learn from Starbuck's mobile ordering challenges

mobilepaymentstoday.com

While Starbucks is not the first fast casual restaurant to roll out mobile ordering, it generates the most discussion from the industry when it comes to mobile strategies.
The coffee giant faced this again late last week when it revealed in its latest earnings call that the mobile order and pay feature in its popular app might have hampered its earnings. Although the chain reported that its Q1 comparable store sales were up 6 percent in China and 3 percent globally and in the U.S. and Americas during for the 13-week period ending Jan. 1, transactions fell 2 percent. About1,200 locations now get 20 percent or more of their orders through mobile order and payment. Only 13 units hit that mark this time last year.
"The tremendous success of mobile order and pay has also created a new operational challenge in our highest volume stores that has been building for several quarters — significant congestion at the hand-off plane," Kevin Johnson, Starbucks' president and chief operating officer, said during the earnings call. Johnson will take over as CEO in April when Schultz steps down to concentrate on growing the Starbucks retail brand.
"This congestion impacted our customer experience and contributed to some number of customers who either entered the store, or considered visiting Starbucks, but did not complete their visit," Johnson said. "We have solved the problems introduced by rapid growth many times over the past several years as our average daily transactions have grown significantly."
Fixing the issue
How Starbucks responds to this challenge is something the industry will closely monitor as mobile ordering becomes a standard feature for many fast casual chains as well as a revenue generator. BI Intelligence predicts mobile ordering will generate $38 billion in sales by 2020.
So, there’s an incentive for Starbucks and others to get mobile ordering right. The question now is how to go about doing it.
Mobile Payments Today and sister publication Fast Casual reached out to some experts in the industry about best practices and strategies going forward for mobile ordering.
Amitaabh Malhotra, chief marketing officer at white-label mobile app provider OmnyPay, believes analytics will play a role for Starbucks and others.
"There is a lot of room for predictive analytics to play here," Malhotra told Mobile Payments Today in a Twitter direct message. "Starbucks has immense amounts of data on user ordering behavior, especially during rush hour. Creating a behavioral model, and then applying that to most likely ordered items during rush hour would be the solution."
Olo, a digital ordering provider for restaurants, believes Starbucks and other establishments that feature mobile ordering also should seek to reevaluate their internal processes and infrastructure to better accommodate an influx of orders.
"As brands grow their digital sales mix to meaningful levels, it should set in motion a continuous series of process and infrastructure changes to better handle evolving consumer expectations as they approach and progress through the store," Marty Hahnfeld, Olo's chief commercial officer, told Fast Casual in an email. "Improved signage and messaging, additional food and beverage prep stations for digital orders, smarter capacity management and order throttling, and even an evolution in the layout of their restaurants — should all be on the table," he said.

Learning from Panera
That appears to be the approach that Panera took in 2014 when it revealed plans for Panera 2.0.
Panera aimed the initiative at revamping the customer experience, changing everything from digital ordering to payments and even the storefront atmosphere.
"We are extremely innovative and we launched Panera 2.0 in an effort to identify the friction and make it easier than ever for the consumer to access our product," Brian Backer, director of enterprise architecture, said during a panel discussion on future-proofing the retail business at the 2016 NRF conference in New York.
How Starbucks addresses its own mobile ordering issues remains to be seen, but Reuters reported that Starbucks is adding more one-to-two more baristas to aid with mobile orders. A spokesperson said company executives "are also rethinking work routines and internally testing text notifications that alert customers when their orders are ready."
Even with the mobile ordering issues, Starbucks continues to see a boom from the app.
Mobile payments reached 27 percent of U.S. company-operated transactions for the first quarter that ended Jan. 1 2017.
Mobile order and pay represented 7 percent of U.S. company-operated transactions in the quarter, up from 3 percent in the prior year.
Adding voice-ordering
In related news, Starbucks announced it has added voice-ordering capabilities to its iOS app and the Amazon Alexa platform as features of an extension of Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay.
Select customers can now order coffee "on command" using My Starbucks barista as part of an initial feature rollout integrated seamlessly into the app, according to a company press release. At the same time, the company is launching a Starbucks Reorder Skill on the Amazon Alexa platform. Both features allow customers to order from Starbucks simply by using their voice.

"The Starbucks experience is built on the personal connection between our barista and customer, so everything we do in our digital ecosystem must reflect that sensibility," said Gerri Martin-Flickinger, chief technology officer for Starbucks. "Our team is focused on making sure that Starbucks voice ordering within our app is truly personal and equally important was finding the right partner in Amazon to test and learn from this new capability. These initial releases are easy to use providing a direct benefit to customers within their daily routine and we are confident that this is the right next step in creating convenient moments to complement our more immersive formats. We expect to learn a lot from these experiences and to evolve them over time."

Facebook's New Plan to Monetize Messenger

fool.com

Relying on the most basic of monetization strategies.

IMAGE SOURCE: FACEBOOK

After a couple of years of actively looking for ways to monetize Messenger, Facebook is testing out a tried but true method to app monetization: banner ads. The company recently launched a small test of display ads on the Messenger home screen, just below users' favorite contacts. A handful of users in Thailand and Australia will start to see the ads over the coming weeks.

Facebook has worked to increase the interaction between users and businesses on Messenger for several, most notably introducing chatbots. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that's a key phase before monetization. But Facebook is pressing on the gas with Messenger because of constraints in its ad supply on its flagship platform. Messenger may be able to handle the overflow of demand for Facebook ads if the tests prove successful.

Messenger isn't WeChat

Tencent has benefited greatly from the popularity of WeChat, a messaging app used widely in China and other parts of Asia. It's leveraged WeChat into a huge revenue source via payments, Facebook news feed-like advertisements, official business accounts, and a whole app ecosystem built on top of the messaging platform.

Facebook has tried to mimic some of WeChat's functionality. It introduced payments and integrated services from third parties like Uber. It made an app store specifically for Messenger, and chatbots are an extension of that app format. But nothing has really moved the needle for Messenger like it has for WeChat. North America and Europe -- where Facebook is most dominant -- already have well-established app ecosystems, so there's no need for one app to rule them all, as in China.

Relying on Facebook's strengths

The company has some of the best ad-targeting data in the world. Messenger ads will use the same targeting data as Facebook and Instagram ads. Note that Facebook will not scrape data from users' private conversations on Messenger.

AN EXAMPLE OF THE NEW ADS IN MESSENGER. IMAGE SOURCE: FACEBOOK.

Facebook's strength in ad targeting should result in better ad performance than WeChat's early attempts at banner advertising. WeChat originally introduced advertising in 2014 with the most basic targeting options -- gender, location, age, and so on.

Facebook has started building up demand for a news feed ad product that allows users to click and start messaging the business right away. Those kinds of ads would fit perfectly into Messenger, so Facebook has already laid some extra groundwork to ensure better conversions.

Still, it's unknown whether users will respond well to ads in Messenger like they have to ads in Facebook and Instagram feeds. A carousel of display ads doesn't really fit into the app; it's very inorganic and easily identified as an ad.

Overall, however, it provides Facebook with a potentially much larger advertising supply than Sponsored Messages -- its first attempt at advertising in Messenger. Businesses could only advertise to users that had initiated a conversation with them first. That substantially limited the scope of the ad product. The new ad carousel could potentially display ads to everyone.

Facebook needs to get the ball rolling on Messenger

During the company's third-quarter earnings call, CFO Dave Wehner warned investors that he expects ad revenue growth to "come down meaningfully" due to saturation of Facebook's ad load in news feed. Simply put, Facebook can't squeeze any more ads into its most popular product.

Meanwhile, Instagram's ad revenue growth has been outstanding. Analysts at Credit Suisse expect it to generate $6.4 billion this year, double its revenue from last year. However, the analysts expect growth to slow significantly after this year, reaching just $12 billion by 2021. In other words, Instagram will see more absolute revenue growth in its first two years of monetization than in the next four.

With 1 billion users on Messenger, the platform represents a huge opportunity for advertisements. And while the advertising real estate may be smaller on the chat app, there's still billions of dollars in annual revenue for Facebook to squeeze out of Messenger. As growth slows for both Facebook and Instagram, Messenger will have to pick up the slack in the next few years.

Snapchat makes it easier for brands to share content with QR Snapcodes

thedrum.com

Snapchat is making it easier to share online content within its walls, allowing users to create QR 'Snapcodes' for any link.

The update means users won't be forced to exit the app to view websites that have been shared by creators, instead accessing them via a sharable icon captured using the Snapchat app camera.

Any Snapchat subscriber can create a QR code, but the clickable feature is likely to be of particular use to brands looking to boost engagement on the mobile messaging app. The tech could also have the potential to convert impressions into leads or collect data for targeted campaigns.

At the moment, Snapchat doesn't allow users to link out to content in the same way Facebook or Instagram does, but the update could help the app enable celebrities and brands to do this without compromising user experience.

While QR codes are unpopular in some marketing circles, Snapchat has been putting a modern twist on the technology since 2015, making it simpler for users to add each other without typing in user names. This move was then mimicked by Facebook which added a similar function to Messenger last year.

Snapchat has now opened up its APIs to all advertisers as part of a series of updates ahead of its forthcoming estimated $25bn IPO.

WHICH APPS MAKE THE MOST MONEY - AND WHY?

androidpit.com

Last year we saw many apps struggle to fund their applications and sustain a loyal user base. Not all apps experience these issues and some still managed to be very successful. Which apps are currently the most popular and, most importantly, why is this the case?

·       

·         Funding apps

Creating and maintaining an app is no easy task and can end up costing a lot of money. Since money doesn’t grow on trees (breaking news), it’s necessary to either find funds or have an external financial resource. The ‘simplest’ solution is to generate money with the app itself. In practice, this is not a straightforward process: not only does it take time but it also takes money. What a hassle!

The easiest solution is advertising. The problem is that nobody wants to see banners on their apps and users tend to avoid those applications that make use of advertising. In any case, I doubt that many people will actually click on the advertising banner…

You'll need to cough up if you want that app to generate a profit. © AndroidPIT

Businesses have to rely other methods to fund their apps. The most obvious is to make the application profitable but this can impact on the actual number of users (a lot). The alternative is to offer in-app purchases, such as a tool to complete a game (like buying gold coins) or simply just being able to access all the app functions (a premium package).

·         How to get funding for your app: make your dream a reality

Which applications have the best sales revenue?

The website AppAnnie is an American business intelligence company which specializes in the apps and digital goods industry. It recently published a report which listed the apps and games with the highest sales revenue for 2016. Unfortunately App Annie only shows us the position of the applications/businesses, not the exact sales figures.

Apps with the highest sales revenue

Without further ado, here is the list of applications with the highest sales revenue in 2016 (Android and iOS combined) internationally:

·         Spotify

·         Line

·         Netflix

·         Tinder

·         HBO NOW

·         Pandora Radio

·         iQIYI

·         LINE Manga

·         Sing! Karaoke

·         Hulu

Maybe you’re asking yourself, “Jeeze, why isn’t Facebook on that list?” - and that’s a legitimate question. It’s not explained in the report, but I would say that it’s because Facebook (and many others) use advertising and not in-app purchases to fund their application. That being said, let’s go back to the list.

It’s no great surprise to find Spotify featuring in this list, though I must say that I wasn’t expecting to find it in the pole position. The reason for its success is obviously the number of users, attracted by the low cost premium subscription. Line holds second place, probably thanks to its stickers and its popularity in the Chinese market. In other regions, however, the application is still struggling to establish itself.

Spotify is top of the list. / © AndroidPIT

In 3rd and 5th place, you’ll find Netflix and HBO Now, which demonstrates that streaming online is becoming more and more popular (much to the disadvantage of traditional media). Tinder occupies 4th place thanks to its number of users and in-app purchases.

Games with the highest sales revenue

Here’s a list of the games with the highest sales revenues (Android and iOS combined) internationally:

·         Monster-Strike

·         Clash of Clans

·         Pokémon GO

·         Game of War - Fire Age

·         Clash Royale

·         Mobile Strike

·         Puzzle & Dragons

·         Fantasy Westward Journey

·         Candy Crush Saga

·         Fate/Grand Order

Although some of these games will probably be unknown to you a lot of the others are more familiar, such as Clash of Clans and Pokémon Go or even Clash Royal. These three games are this year’s most popular games, their user base is huge and the in-app purchases enable them to generate substantial profits. The first place holder came as quite a surprise to me. Monster Strike is obviously a popular game but I didn’t think that it would make that much money, though perhaps the Chinese market has had an important role in securing its success.

Pokémon GO got everyone out and about on the streets. © AndroidPIT

The funding games are (in theory) quite simple as it’s relatively easy to get users hooked. Once you've got them, they'll spend the huge amount of money that is required in order to play the game. The constant search for human contact in video games (a taste of competition) guarantees the presence of players in multi-player games, and a good game and/or an interesting gameplay is a sure fire way to ensure players come back regularly and… they will keep paying for it.

Whether it’s apps or games, the relationship between the number of users and the sales revenues are logical: the more users there are, the more revenue there will be. It’s not surprising to see the most used apps and games featuring in the top spots on this list.

5 Digital Marketing Trends that will Repeat Itself in 2017

blogs.christianpost.com

There are two things similar between fashion and marketing, one is their dynamic and ever changing nature and the second is their trends. While there are some new trends every single year, there are a few trends that are absolutely constant; again there is that group of trends that keeps repeating themselves from time to time. Here we are to speak about those digital marketing trends of 2016 that proved to be extremely successful and will be repeating their success stories in 2017 as well.

Importance of Digital Marketing:

Products and services are not introduced to consumers over night, especially when businesses want to sell them online. Businesses have to come up with strategic and result driven digital marketing campaigns and promote their offerings on leading social media platforms and other sites to allow their products and services come in contact with the online consumer’s notice. Here is where the role of a number of digital marketing tools and tricks come into play. Some of the most potent tools of digital marketing include- social media, PPC (Pay Per Click marketing), Video Streaming, sponsored ads, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and most importantly content marketing with the help of leading blog, paper and college essay writing service. These tools and hacks help businesses spread the word about their product and services and turn their business goals into actual profitable outcomes.

Digital Marketing Trends you should be looking out for in 2017:

As mentioned above there will be numerous digital marketing trends which will extend their fruitfulness in 2017 as well. Some of these include-

1. Mobile Optimization

Traffic is what you are looking forward to from the moment you start with your digital marketing campaigns. Over the last year, far more amount of traffic was noticed to be directed from smart phones and tablets as compared to computers. This year is expected to be no different. In case your business website is not optimised for mobile phones, it is time that you look into achieving mobile optimization. This makes navigation on your site through mobile devices a lot easier, more comfortable and also efficient for smart phone users, rendering better customer satisfaction and increased traffic.

2. Local SEO is more important than ever

With the now active status of My Business, Google is paying more importance than ever to local seo. With tags being kept on black hat seo activities, the need for proper and strategic seo promotion, to increase your ranking effectively and law-abidingly on search engines has become imperative. To boost their local seo, businesses need to create a Google account first, followed by effective use of My Business.

3. App Store Optimization

Over the last year about 52% of internet users have been tracked to use different applications to serve a specific function rather than conducting random searches on search engines and different sites. This obviously provides them with better functionality. In case your business does not have an app, it is time to get one followed by optimizing it on app stores for its better visibility. Also use in-app analytics to measure app open rates, click through rates and conversations to make effective use of the app.

4. Selling on Social Media

The platform that immediately boosts your organic reach to hundreds and thousands of people every single day is social media. Leading social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc, are not only great places to promote your products and services but also sell the same. Use your facebook pages and Instagram accounts to increase your follower base and sell your offerings to them directly.

5. Enjoy the benefits of Content Marketing

There is no better medium to promoting your business’s products and services than using the content marketing as your much loyal weapon. The creation of useful, crisp, informative and unique content that extends some kind of value to the reader and urges them to take interest in your products is key to achieving success for your e-commerce venture.

Apart from these, some of the other major trends of 2016 you are sure to see in 2017 as well are- email marketing, Instagram sponsored ads, facebook advertisements, live video streaming, link building, guest blogging, on page seo, social posts, voice search on search engines, etc.

Facebook Tunes Into Television’s Market

wsj.com

The social network is developing an app for television set-top boxes, hoping to tap more ad dollars 

By DEEPA SEETHARAMAN and JACK MARSHALL

Watch this video: http://www.wsj.com/video/facebook-targets-tv-ad-dollars-with-set-top-video-app/A608C350-7565-4485-8B24-E9F363CA6169.html

Facebook Inc. might be coming to a bigger small screen.

The social network is developing a video-centric app for television set-top boxes, including Apple Inc.’s Apple TV, people familiar with the matter said, giving it a home for video content—as well as a new vehicle for video advertising.

The app is one of several Facebook projects aimed at making it a “video-first” company that can compete for television ad dollars. The social giant has been marketing its live-streaming capabilities, testing a new video ad product and integrating more videos into Instagram, its photo-sharing app.

Facebook is also in discussions with media companies to license long-form, TV-quality programming, people familiar with the situation said. A set-top box app would be a natural way to distribute that “premium” content and make it accessible on TV sets.

Facebook is already the second-biggest player in digital advertising, after Alphabet Inc.’s Google. But the social-media giant said last November that its main source of revenue, the news feed, was running out of room for more ads.

As a result, executives warned that revenue growth would “come down meaningfully” starting in the middle of this year. Facebook is due to report its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and analysts expect revenue to have increased 46%—the slowest rate of growth in five quarters—to $8.5 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Tapping more of the $70 billion U.S. TV advertising market could help offset its growth plateau. Video ads command a premium over text- and image-based ads within the news feed. Though video ads already contribute to Facebook’s growth, deep-pocketed advertisers still spend the bulk of their marketing budgets on television ads.

Facebook has competition from other tech companies. YouTube, part of Google parent Alphabet Inc., and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat are also angling to get more TV advertising. Google said last week that ads it sells on YouTube generally cost less than its search-engine ads. Snapchat is pushing more toward a content-licensing model, a move that media executives say Facebook has noticed.

Facebook started emphasizing video in 2014, reflecting the belief internally that video is becoming a central part of how people communicate. Late last year, some employees at Facebook started referring to the platform’s future as a type of “mobile TV,” one of the people said. The social network is hoping to cut into the time Americans spend watching live television—around four hours a day on average, according to media measurement firm Nielsen.

Facebook’s users world-wide spend an average of 50 minutes a day on its products, regardless of the type of content, according to the company.

The company’s video priorities have evolved, from on-demand video to videos broadcast live, and now to higher-quality videos.

Facebook has been known for short-form video clips. But media companies say they are in talks with Facebook to provide it with long-form “TV-like” content upward of 10 minutes in length. That content could include scripted shows and sports and entertainment content created specifically for the platform, according to media executives familiar with the discussions.

Nearly every product team at Facebook is working to incorporate more video across its features and apps, according to people familiar with the matter. Last week, it began testing “Facebook Stories”, a photo- and video- montage feature that is a carbon-copy of a popular feature on Instagram.

Facebook has vowed to avoid pre-roll video ads, the spots popular on YouTube, because it believes it would turn users off. Earlier this month, Facebook began testing “mid-roll” ads—a format that recalls a typical TV spot—in the middle of live videos, and plans to introduce them in all videos. The ads will be 15 seconds long, and will only appear after a video is played for at least 20 seconds, according to media executives briefed by Facebook.

Last week, Facebook also tweaked its news feed to boost the visibility of videos over 90-seconds long. The move could result in more advertising space for Facebook to sell, publishers briefed on the project said. Facebook has told publishers that it plans to share revenue from mid-roll ads with them.

The set-top box app under development would offer another, potentially more promising route for Facebook to seize a larger portion of TV budgets, the people familiar with its app development said. Facebook has been contemplating some version of a video-focused set-top box app for years, but the effort was revived last summer when Facebook executives decided to double-down on video for the second half of 2016. In October, Facebook introduced a feature allowing users to stream videos from the Facebook app to their TVs through devices like Apple TV or Google Chromecast.

The new app would go further than other set-top box apps that Facebook has developed with companies like Roku, Inc., because one design Facebook was mulling wouldn’t contain any “non-video content,” said one person briefed on the app. The existing Roku app allows users to view photos and videos.

The app would be a home for video content, including the original, premium content that Facebook currently is trying to attract from major studios, the people said. Facebook eventually would sell ads against that content, giving it another way to generate growth to offset the expected decline in ad growth in its core news feed.

“If there’s good video content, you’ll actually watch a couple thirty-second video ads,” one person familiar with the efforts said.