ScreenTonic is one of the major players in the mobile advertising market, and following its acquisition by Microsoft earlier this year, looks set to remain so. David Murphy caught up with General Manager Jana Eisenstein to find out more
DM: So Jana, can you tell us about ScreenTonic and where you sit in relation to some of the other mobile advertising companies
JE: Weve been around since 2001. We started selling mobile advertising for Orange France in 2003, and were still working with them today. We launched ScreenTonic UK in Q2, 2006, and shortly thereafter, launched a mobile display advertising pilot with Orange UK. We also launched mobile advertising in Belgium in Q4, 2006, and in addition to our work with network operators, we also have a lot of off-portal clients like Digital Spy, Reporo and Flirtomatic. We get 100 million ad page impressions per month, and we have sold over 1 billion since we started.
DM: And whats the revenue model?
JE: The revenue model is CPM (cost per thousand). Were very much modelled on the web, where you have premium ad networks like 24/7 which represent publishers and sell on the publishers sites. We work mostly with operators and large off-portals now, and sell inventory on an individual basis, mostly on a CPM basis.
DM: So how does that compare with a company like Admob?
JE: AdMob is predominantly CPC (cost per click). They aggregate mobile sites very much mobile-focused, content, games etc, – and then they sell them as a channel, so as an advertiser, you decide which channel you want to go for. We represent individual sites, based on a CPM model.
DM: And the big news, of course, is that a few months ago, you were
bought by Microsoft. So what are the implications of that, in terms of
the ScreenTonic brand, and the way you operate?
JE: We will continue to operate as ScreenTonic and continue to work
with our partners and to grow. We are just very fortunate to be in the
Microsoft fold and to be able to tap into the additional resources that
come with that.
All the major web players want to get into alternative web formats. In
addition to buying ScreenTonic, Microsoft also bought the in-game
advertising company, Massive, last year and the strategy there is the
same as it is with us. Massive are still in their office and still
operating as Massive. The intention is to leverage as much as they can
between the two companies. Theres obviously a huge technology
capability and a huge ad network through MSN, so the deal presents big
opportunities for us.
DM: But how does the relationship with Microsoft sit with mobile ad
standards, because I believe that you work to one standard banner size
and Microsoft Ad Center works to another? What happens when one of your
commercial partners like Orange says they prefer your standard and
Microsoft says they prefer theirs?
JE: Well, were working with the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) and
their Advertising Standards Committee on this. Even within the UK,
there are multiple formats. We see it as our job to make it work, and
its not only between Microsoft and Orange. There are lots more parties
involved, because at the end of the day, do you really want it to be
like the web, where there are five standard banner sizes? It is an
issue, but it is something we are working on.
DM: So tell us about your mobile advertising platform, STAMP.
JE: STAMP offers advertisers lots of targeting and profiling
opportunities. Its very important, because its specific to the
handset and the operator, so we end up targeting on a technology level,
so specific handsets are compatible with specific sites and operator
networks, where you may have payment and billing systems that may not
be compatible. You can also do (target by) day and time, and user
profile and behaviour. But this is still early days, and there are data
protection issues, and permission issues. In any case, using extensive
customer data for targeting is putting the cart before the horse,
because its still early days for everyone for mobile display
advertising. We have advertisers who are starting to test this out, but
certainly not in the high volumes you have on the web. The operators
are coming into it slowly, so there are smaller volumes on inventory.
First of all, you want to understand the dynamics and performance of
the advertising before you start targeting. And if you start adding
targeting and profiling on small volumes, you will shrink the size. But
it will come, and within a year, we will see some user-based profiling
and targeting on- or off-portal.
DM: And what ad formats you have available for advertisers?
JE: Sure. We have banners, of course, and these can be fixed, animated,
with a clickthrough to the advertisers mobile site. We also have video
banners, so the user can download the advertisers video clip to the
handset.
We also have Text Links, which again link back to the advertisers
mobile site. These are the lowest common denominator form of mobile
advertising where the phone cant display a banner ad. Then we have Ad Words. These are sponsored search results that again
link directly back to the advertisers mobile site. They are currently
available in France and will be available in the UK soon. These are
mainly around mobile-related content such as games, ringtones, music
and mobile services and sites, and we sell it based on the most
searched-for terms.
DM: So how do the sponsored results appear in relation to the organic ones?
JE: They are differentiated, as they are on the web, and for some
search terms, it could be that there are only organic results. We also
offer interstitials, where a full-screen ad appears, typically while a
requested page is loading, and finally, video billboards, where a short
video ad is inserted at the beginning or end of video content, so maybe
a move trailer before a weather report, for example.
DM: And I noticed that for some of your clients you also build WAP
sites. Whats the split in revenues between this and mobile
advertising?
JE: We are not a WAP site builder. We are pure media sales. The WAP
stuff is a bit of a legacy from France, but as we grow, we will partner
with other companies for this type of work.
DM: So how do you see the whole mobile space panning out, as a marketing channel?
JE: Well I dont believe in the hype. I think mobile advertising is a
great opportunity and a fantastic market, and its going to grow. But
when I hear people saying that this year is going to be the year of the
mobile ad, I strongly doubt it, because if you look at the web, and how
advertising on the web grew, it took time. Until this year in the UK,
there were really very few sites where you could sell mobile ads, and
very few advertisers who had the mobile assets to click through to, so
last year, I would say we were the early leaders in this market, and
this year it has gathered momentum. Agencies are trialling it and using
it, and we are getting regular briefs that include mobile as another
channel, so the signs are good, but I dont believe this year will be
massive. I see strong growth for us, but from a very small starting
point.
DM: And finally, as a mobile advertising specialist, I wonder what you
make of mainstream broadcasters like ITV partnering with mobile
companies (in this case MIG) to sell mobile advertising as part of a
package with their TV airtime?
JE: Mobile is a new medium, so if TV channels are pushing clients to
integrate mobile, then thats not a bad thing, because at least they
are testing it. The best way to grow a market is through results, and
if they have success in using it though a TV channel, then maybe they
will start using it more.