AOL’s Third Screen Media launches iPhone ad-optimization service

By Mickey Alam Khan

September 4, 2008

Apple iPhone-unoptimized ad

Third Screen Media, a mobile ad network that is part of AOL’s Platform-A advertising unit, has debuted a new ad-optimization service for the Apple iPhone.

The service will now enable targeted advertising to users of the iPhone, a smartphone that over-indexes in Web usage compared to its market penetration.

“The iPhone is certainly one that advertisers seek because there’s a lot of notoriety around the iPhone because iPhone users have a higher level of engagement with Web browsing than users of other types of phones,” said Kent Johnson, director of business operations at Third Screen, Boston.

Device detection is key to the ad-delivery process to the iPhone.

For example, when iPhone users browse sites within the Third Screen mobile network, the Advertising.com online ad network or any of AOL’s other media sites, an ad will be served up that is specifically optimized for the iPhone.

Apple iPhone-optimized ads

Also, Third Screen will redirect iPhone users to special versions of marketers’ sites that are optimized for the iPhone platform.

The iPhone development comes a month after AOL launched a mobile third-party ad-serving service through Third Screen (see story).

The third-party ad-serving service lets publishers access multiple networks and helps them to manage, partition and allocate their advertising inventory across multiple networks.

As a unit of Platform-A, Third Screen has access to an online display ad network that claims to reach 90 percent of the Web audience.

Platform-A claims to deliver nearly 75 million ads monthly to iPhones, combining its Web ad network with Third Screen’s mobile.

“This is a great way to demonstrate how Platform-A brings the different media types together,” Mr. Johnson said.

“It’s just that the iPhone makes it easier and seamless for users to view traditional pages, which allows us to focus on serving the right banners,” he said.

Third Screen offers both carrier on-deck mobile inventory as well as a mobile network of more than 100 publishers representing 200-plus sites. The company’s products and services help marketers, agencies and media firms to manage their mobile ad campaigns.

The iPhone is one among many mobile platforms that Third Screen’s ad network supports. Others include Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile.

“We have tested hundreds of unique devices that we can support as part of a mobile campaign,” Mr. Johnson said.

“It’s all about the promise of having a seamless Web experience regardless of whether you’re on mobile or desktop,” he said.