New Apple Products, Brand Advertising, and Crisp Wireless

A lot has been said about iPad and iAd already. I don't know if I can add a unique or interesting perspective. However, I do know that I can authoritatively comment on how Crisp is supporting iPad and how our rich media advertising solutions benefit from iAd.

With the launch of iPad and iAd, Apple has provided another validation point that the dominance of direct response advertising in mobile is coming to an end and the era of brand advertising is upon us. Brand advertising works when playing to emotions and Apple devices are enabling advertising with emotion. iPad, iPhone, Android, and other HTML5-based devices can deliver engaging, interactive, and plainly gorgeous ads that integrate high-quality images, hi-fi audio, HD video, and location to boot. Brand advertising on mobile has indeed arrived.

The shift to brand advertising is an area that Crisp Wireless has been focused on for the last two years. We created the Crisp rich media ad platform, launched our Adhesion fixed placement for the mobile web, and built an advertising sales force to support the direct sales efforts of our publishers. We have executed rich media campaigns with Skittles, Intel, Paramount Pictures, Estee Lauder, Lexus, Infiniti and many others. Without exception, all are major brand advertisers.

With respect to iPad, I want to state in no uncertain terms that the Crisp Rich Media Ad Framework supports iPad. Our platform enables agency developers to develop HTML5 ads that can run on iPad today. These ads push the envelope of mobile advertising, take full advantage of the iPad's larger canvass, and are limited only by the author's imagination. These ads run in application and on standard web sites, providing a compelling alternative to Flash ads, which  are not supported on iPad.  To date, we have extended our Adhesion placement technology to iPad and can convert existing IAB Flash ads into HTML5 ads that can run on iPad.  We will also continue to deliver new and innovative iPad-optimized ad templates.

iAd won't be available for a few months so I have to resort to speculating. Apple has addressed the needs of its key constituency, the thousands of app developers. This is a long-tail play. Apple has neither addressed the needs of premium publishers, nor has it prevented third parties from providing advertising solutions for premium publishers. To add, iAd is all about apps, not mobile web, which will support open standards even on iPhone and iPad.

The Crisp Rich Media Ad Framework will continue to stay ahead of the market for rich media advertising on mobile web. Interestingly, what Steve Jobs demonstrated last week in his demo--a Toy Story 3 ad with options to watch clips and play games--Crisp has already delivered on the mobile web.

Much has been said about the closed nature of iAd for apps. However, there is nothing to indicate that the adlib libraries in Object C and JavaScript are exclusively tied into the Quattro Ad Network. While the Quattro iAd ad network might have some unique capabilities related to targeting, we haven't found a reason to believe that Apple will make it technically impossible for developers or premium publishers to leverage some of the new advertising related libraries in iPhone 4.0 OS.

In other words, I expect the Crisp Rich Media Ad Framework will be used by agencies to build rich media ads that work on mobile web, which what is possible today, and in iPhone/iPad apps after iAd becomes available.

In short, iPad and iAd will be a boon for mobile rich media brand advertising. Brand advertisers will finally start spending meaningful budgets on mobile. And Crisp is ready to help both publishers and agencies to execute on engaging rich media campaigns across mobile web and in app.

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