HowardsForum joins Netshelter ad network
April 9, 2008
Mobile talk
NetShelter Technology Media has added a new member to its technology vertical network, letting marketers advertise their products on online mobile phone discussion board HowardForums.com.
HowardForums.com has about 800,000 members and features more than 10 million posts. An average of 6,000 active users can be found online at nearly all times of the day. Advertisers can now place sponsorship and custom publishing-type advertising buys on HowardForums.com whereas before they could only buy text links and limited IAB standard units.
“When buying a cell phone, smartphone or a PDA, customers and businesses rely on advice from knowledgeable professionals on HowardForums.com’s discussion forums to pick the right mobile device,” said Peyman Nilforoush, cofounder/CEO of NetShelter Technology Media.
“[We expect] HowardForums.com will generate significant advertising revenue from the new programs that NetShelter will take to the market and sell," he said. “NetShelter expands on a company’s unique value proposition for technology marketers looking to reach mobile professionals by adding the largest mobile pro community online.”
Netshelter also sells ad space on sites such as PhoneScoop.com, MobileBurn.com, InfoSyncWorld.com and Thoughts Media Network.
When HowardForums.com traffic is aggregated with these other mobile-centric sites already represented by NetShelter, advertisers get access to over 5 million mobile professionals, according to comScore.
The HowardForums.com discussion board is said to be made up of a large and influential community. Specific forums include mobile phone-related manufacturers, carriers, smartphone/PDA convergence and industry and technological advances.
HowardForums.com claims to deliver 50 million ad impressions and more than 2 million unique visitors monthly. It is closing in on 1 million registered members and features more than 10 million posts.
“CNET, PC World, PC Mag and other technology media companies are not able to efficiently reach the mobile professional audience online,” Mr. Nilforoush said. “NetShelter now has the largest scale to reach this audience with highly customizable and compelling online marketing programs.”
For example, RadioShack just finished running a major mobile phone campaign this past week using 300x600 creatives on the homepage of HowardForums.com.
Additionally, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, BlackBerry, Nokia and Palm are regular advertisers on the mobile group of sites and are now said to be asking for a major presence on HowardForums.com using custom publishing-type campaigns that help them connect with the community.
“The community is made up of folks that not only are buyers of high-end PDAs and mobile devices but also make or influence buying decisions for their organizations and families,” Mr. Nilforoush said. “They are categorized as mobile professionals and gurus.
“The community decides if for example Windows Mobile-enabled PDAs will eventually take over BlackBerry devices and that's why major marketers and carriers want to be there,” he said.