Video and Travel Apps Drive Mobile Ads
Millennial Media finds growth in apps that are often used as travel booking tools.
Handy apps that let smart phone users book, manage, and track travel are enticing advertisers to spend, according to a report released last week.
Millennial Media’s Scorecard for Mobile Advertising Reach and Targeting (SMART) report tracks monthly trends in mobile advertising based on actual campaign and network data from the mobile ad network.
While gaming apps continue to rule on Millennial’s network, accounting for a third of all application impressions in July, the latest stats show that travel-related apps are coming on strong. These apps, which accounted for 86 percent of all travel campaigns on the network, are often used as booking tools.
Powerful smart phones running on fast networks are enticing advertisers with the prospects for video. According to the report, campaigns that gave consumers an opportunity to watch video grew 69 percent month-over-month, and made up over 30 percent of all campaigns.
This month, Millennial Media put the spotlight on its travel vertical. It found that Hotel and Resort advertisers made up over 60 percent of all travel-related advertising, with 40 percent coming from booking sites.
Marketers are still relying on demographic targeting for campaigns, the report says, with 25 percent of all ads using some demographic criteria. For example, travel marketers sought mothers to increase awareness of summer specials, while automotive advertisers looked for adult males, hoping to get them excited about the new model year.
There was a strong local angle to much of the advertising running through the network. Local Market Audience targeting grew 22 percent month-over-month, and 67 percent of all targeted audience campaigns included location as a criterion for targeting.
Getting customers on their feet and into the door was of growing importance in July, growing 55 percent that month. Millennial says that back-to-school sales and movies were the major drivers of this growth.
Somewhat surprisingly, performance did not drive the majority of the ads. Sustaining in-market presence was the goal of 79 percent of all travel campaigns, while lead generation and registrations accounted for only 22 percent. But social media engagement tactics increased 34 percent month-over-month and were included in 24 percent of all campaigns.
