ChaCha Gets More Local With Localeze
Mobile and online "questions" company ChaCha today has partnered with local search and listings provider Localeze. This primarily involves ChaCha's Web site (as opposed to mobile), and will insert deeper local business information around questions asked on the site. Specifically,15…
Millennial Media: Better Analytics Through Acquisition
Mobile M&A activity continues ... except this time it's a mobile ad network on the buy side. Following Google's $750M AdMob acquisition, and Apple's $275M Quattro acquisition, the largest remaining independent ad network, Millennial Media, will acquire mobile analytics firm…
Mobile Advertising: It’s All About the Simple (for Now)
It's been made clear here and other places that mobile devices enable advertising that's much more granular and targeted than the PC. We've also argued that the ad formats and campaign objectives should therefore be de-coupled from online equivalents. But there…
GetFugu Brings Eyes and Ears to Mobile Search
Today I had the chance to catch up with GetFugu, a mobile tool applying some of the voice and visual search technologies we've examined here over the past few months. The app, currently in beta for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android,…
Loopt Continues to Broaden Appeal as a Mobile Local Utility
Mobile social player Loopt has made lots of moves to evolve amid quickly changing market standards and user expectations. This has involved moving from a purely social tool to a more broadly defined local utility -- recently including Foursquare-like check-ins,…
Evolving Mobile Ads: A Conversation with Crisp Wireless
Today I had the chance to talk with Crisp Wireless CEO Boris Fridman to get more color on the company's recent launch of its AdHesion product. In short, it's a new format for mobile web ad units that are more…
Marketplaces Conference: Mobile Sessions Slated
Next month, BIA/Kelsey will hold its annual Marketplaces 2010 Conference in San Diego. As always, it will have a focus on evolving local online business models and vertical segmentation. Much of the attention throughout the conference will be on the…
SI’s Swimsuit Issue: Now With More Mobile
Mobile bar code integrations with traditional media seem to be coming at us faster and faster. The latest is Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. The annual institution of the sporting press hits newsstands today, filled with 2D bar codes that let…
More Mobile Local Targeting From MoVoxx
The dial has been turned up lately on mobile location targeting -- within social media, local search, and advertising contexts. The latest news comes from mobile ad network MoVoxx, which has enhanced its location targeting with Useful Networks' PlaceWhere platform.…
Loopt Goes Further Down the Local Path
Loopt continues to evolve from a location based social network to more of a local search utility. This comes during a general shift of market attention towards location based mobile apps and the commercial intent that can be inherent in…
Local Business Hot Spots: A Conversation With Convergent Mobile
The dial continues to be turned up on location based mobile marketing. While usage evolves and creates monetization opportunities, advertiser interest grows from secular and cyclical shifts. The latter will continue to improve as we emerge from recession. As for…
More on the iPad: Will It Pop or Flop?
As promised, here are the "day 2" thoughts on the fate of the iPad. Obviously, lots of talk about the device this week -- whether it's a viable device, whether it's a Kindle killer, etc. The former question is more…
Millennial SMART Report: Portals & Directories Claim Top Mobile Spending
Mobile ad network Millennial Media is out with its latest monthly (December) Scorecard for Mobile Advertising Reach & Targeting (SMART). Most notable from the findings was that Entertainment was dethroned as the top mobile ad spending category by Portals &…
Mobile, Social, Local Gaming: A Conversation With MyTown
Topping the list of hot topics in digital media these days (besides iTablet rumors) is social gaming (i.e. Zynga), mobile social apps (i.e. foursquare), and mobile gaming. Mobile startup Booyah is combining all of them in an iPhone app called…
Bringing More Local to Mobile Ads: A Conversation With MoVoxx
Most of the money spent on mobile ads is from brand advertisers and agencies. And the targeting methods they use, via ad networks, are mostly borrowed from the online tactics they know best. This involves branding and some direct response,…