What does Google’s $750M purchase of AdMob mean for mobile advertising?

By Dan Butcher - November 10, 2009

Google Inc. has signed a game-changing agreement to acquire mobile ad network AdMob for $750 million in stock in a move that validates mobile advertising as an effective marketing medium.
Google is hoping that this acquisition will enhance its existing expertise and technology in mobile advertising, while also giving advertisers and publishers more choice in this fast-growing area. The deal will help Google in its efforts to develop more effective tools for creating, serving and analyzing emerging mobile ads formats and expand beyond its traditional focus on search advertising.
"We've been talking about the awesome opportunity that mobile marketing brings to the world," said Mike Wehrs, president/CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association, New York. "Some people understand that, and this deal shows that the largest and best-known advertising company—Google—understands the awesomeness of the opportunity, and they understand where this is going.
 
"If anything, it's absolutely proof-positive of the value of the mobile channel and it encourages brands to take a very hard look at their priorities," he said. "If they're not already increasing their mobile spend, this is a wake-up call.
"It sets to rest any questions as to whether mobile ad networks had a sustainable, profitable business model, and this will cause people to pay attention, wow, there is significant large-player interest, so it spells opportunity."

Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is a top Web property in all major global markets, albeit largely monetarily successful in its search advertising business. It has recently made mobile an increasing focus of its business.
AdMob, San Mateo, CA, is one of the leading mobile ad networks specializing in banner ads for brands such as adidas, MTV, Land Rover and Toshiba that run on publisher sites such as CBS, AccuWeather, Cellufun, MovieTickets.com, Lonely Planet and Stitcher. These ads run across iPhone sites and applications, as well as those based on Google's Android platform.
Founded in 2006, the 140-employee AdMob won $47 million in funding from investors such as venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners.

AdMob and Google share a common investor in Sequoia Capital, a well-known Silicon Valley eminence.
Google's rationale
Mobile advertising is a rapidly growing and competitive space, and Google and AdMob are currently specializing in different areas.
Though Google offers many forms of mobile advertising, its focus to date has been on mobile search ads, while AdMob's focus has been mobile display ads and in-application ads.
Google dubbed AdMob the quintessential Silicon Valley startup and claims that it is generating impressive year-on-year revenue growth.
Both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions.
As this ecosystem continues to grow, the company expects these new marketing media to offer significant benefits.
Google believes that advertisers will be better able to engage mobile users with AdMob's ad formats. The deal will bring new innovation and competition to mobile advertising and will lead to more effective tools for creating, serving and analyzing emerging mobile ad formats, per Google.
The company claims that, by improving the performance of mobile advertising, publishers and developers will be able to monetize their content more effectively, which will hopefully have benefits for the wider mobile ecosystem.
Google also claims that users will see more relevant ads and ultimately get access to more free or low-cost ad-supported content and applications, improving their mobile experience.
The mobile advertising space will remain highly competitive, with more than a dozen mobile ad networks.
The deal is similar to mobile advertising acquisitions that AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo have made in the past two years.
 
Articulo completo en http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/ad-networks/4610.html

---

¡Revisá de un vistazo si tenés correos nuevos! Ingresá a tu Hotmail desde tu Messenger. ¡Probalo ahora!