On Tuesday morning, the world was introduced to the “next generation” of mobile ad technology courtesy of Opera Mediaworks.
The ad platform has just announced its “Innovation Lab.”
The Innovation Lab’s goal, we’re told, is to “create new products and solutions based on technology and innovation that will help marketers reach the next generation of mobile consumers in the most effective and engaging way.”
In addition to making several acquisitions that added to Opera Mediaworks’ roster of mobile talent, including apprupt in Germany and the U.S.-based mobile video ad platform AdColony, the company recruited from some of the best mobile tech firms and ad agencies to make up the 11 team members of the Innovation Lab.
The Innovation Lab will put its energy into five distinct focus areas. They are:
1. Interactivity, via a suite of interactive products that utilize the native capabilities of mobile devices, such as the gyroscope, accelerometer, camera and voice recognition.
2. Receptivity, which means ensuring that ads are served not only to the right person, on the right device and place, but also at the right time — in alignment with the user’s physiological state, or mood.
3. Targeting, including a proprietary technology that detects the apps on a phone to determine that person’s “digital DNA” and serve a highly-relevant ad based on interests and habits.
4. Location, such as banners whose message is dynamically updated based on location. For example: weather-related creative, map to the nearest store, or APR (Annual Percentage Rate) offers from the nearest car dealership.
5. Measurement will continue to be of utmost importance for mobile marketers; the Lab will find ways to improve cross-channel tracking and reporting of engagement metrics as well as understanding what’s driving in-store traffic and mobile conversions.
But that’s not all. The company says its Innovation Lab “will release a suite of new products intended to capture the full potential of mobile advertising.”