People.com goes mobile
November 20, 2008
People mobile for mobile people
Leading celebrity news site People.com has launched People.com Mobile.
People.com tapped Crisp Wireless, a provider of mobile publishing and advertising services for media and entertainment companies, to create People.com Mobile. The new People.com Mobile Web site also provides added depth to Crisp Wireless' Entertainment News channel.
"Mobile provides an important extension of People.com's audience," said John Paris, director of mobile products at Time Inc. Interactive, New York. "According to Nielsen, the mobile Web extends a brand's audience reach by an average of 13 percent over PC traffic.
"The percentage for entertainment, one of the most popular mobile Web content categories, is even higher," he said.
More than 8 million unique users turn to People.com each month for its blend of celebrity news, up-to-the-minute photos, video and Hollywood trivia games.
The mobile site can be found by typing http://m.people.com into a mobile browser.
People.com Mobile will feature a wide array of People.com branded-content, bringing visitors real-time entertainment news updates, celebrity photos and style, videos and reviews with star ratings.
From their phone, users will also be able to opt-in to SMS alerts or email newsletters, share content with friends via email and SMS, or post articles to Facebook and other social bookmarking sites.
This new, free mobile site will allow users faster, easier access to the areas of People.com that are most important to them -- news, photos, video and reviews.
Realizing their users are spending more time on mobile devices seeking out the latest celebrity news, photos and videos, People.com has teamed up with Crisp to execute their new mobile strategy to further monetize their content by offering a highly sought after, targeted audience to advertisers.
Crisp will be providing ad sales support for the People.com mobile site that will include banner ads, photo gallery interstitial ads and video pre-rolls.
People.com joins more than 200 mobile Web sites that make up the Crisp Wireless Publisher Network comprising brands in the news, sports, entertainment, women's lifestyle, and special interest categories.
The Crisp Wireless Publisher Network has more than 200 mobile web sites from more than 45 major media companies and their brands including Time Mobile, NBC Sports, People Magazine, The Huffington Post, Perez Hilton, Gannett, A&E Television Networks, USA Today, Hearst Digital Media, Discovery Communications and Paramount Pictures.
"The [People.com] mobile site targets everyone who'd like to get the best celebrity news, photos and video on their phone for free," Mr. Paris said. "It's an open off-deck Mobile Web site, available to anyone on any device just by going to people.com on their mobile browser.
"We've designed the site to pack a lot of content into a small screen in a way that makes it easy to consume," he said. "You can quickly check up on the latest breaking news, scan the headlines, read a quick summary or take in a full-length article.
"The site is also optimized for different screen sizes, from flip phones to smartphones, and iPhone and Android users will get a special site that's optimized for their touch screens."