Yahoo, the Web portal that rose prominence in part by selling banner ads, is looking to move away from the very format it inflicted on the world as it continues to adapt to the mobile age.
Instead, Yahoo’s focus is on Stream ads — Yahoo’s name for its native ad placements — for its mobile properties, a response to how media is being presented and consumed on the Internet in general and on mobile specifically. Whether on Instagram, Twitter or Yahoo, Internet users are increasingly consuming media in endless vertical streams. For platforms and publishers, it affords them a chance to move away from selling the beleaguered banner ad and toward ads that are supposed to be more engaging, and, with luck, more valuable.
Google, AOL Ventures And Others Invest $17 Million In Mobile Ad-Tech Company Vungle
Mobile advertising is booming, with a $5 billion dollar increase in spend expected this year, after a similar jump last.
And as the spending increases, the mobile ad-tech ecosystem is growing along with it, flush with entrepreneurs trying to turn a profit while helping the growing market reach its potential.
Seeing that opportunity, Google, AOL Ventures, and others are investing $17 million dollars in Vungle, an in-app focused mobile ad-tech company based in San Francisco.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Vungle CEO Zain Jaffer. “One day, apps will be everywhere — in your car, in your contact lenses, on your TV and refrigerator — and mobile ad tech will have to evolve and adapt.”