MoPub, a relatively new mobile advertising startup founded by former AdMob and Google employees, has announced the launch of its MoPub Marketplace — a new solution billed as the first self-service, real-time bidding platform for mobile advertising aimed at giving publishers access to new sources of revenue through a competitive auction, while enabling them to retain complete control and transparency.
Acting as a “virtual trading floor for mobile ads,” according to the company, the MoPub Marketplace connects app publishers with ad buyers in a real-time market. Advertisers, ad agencies, and demand-side platforms are able to target audiences with greater precision as compared to traditional ad networks. MoPub wanted to offer a “one-stop shop” that enabled publishers to monetize through directly-sold ads, cross-promotional campaigns, ad networks, and real-time bidding – all in a single product.
“Until today, publishers have had to operate their mobile ads through a black box: blindly trusting ad networks, without knowing which ads are effective and with no control over the type of ads consumers receive,” said Jim Payne, CEO and co-founder of MoPub. “This matters considerably to the top tier publishers we are working with who are concerned with brand protection as well as ad performance.”
The bottom line for publishers is that MoPub now allows them to set a trading floor for their mobile ad inventory to sell directly to advertisers while retaining a ton of control over the entire experience. Real-time bidding platforms continue to gain a lot of momentum with mobile advertising, and MoPub now joins the ranks of companies like Nexage who also offer real-time bidding solutions. Many publishers have argued that real-time bidding doesn’t allow for the control they require, which is an issue that MoPub wants to solve through its marketplace.