A newly formed partnership between iPhone analytics firm Pinch Media and mobile search and advertising company JumpTap aims to connect brand-name advertisers with iPhone application users. It’s a similar effort to AdMob’s foray into integrated iPhone advertising announced recently.
Ad networks for iPhone apps have been springing up at a steady click since the launch of the App Store. Medialets has been busy creating its own ad network for apps, hoping to separate itself by integrating ads more directly into applications. AppLoop, another app ad network, is emphasizing location-aware metrics for advertisers hoping to use the iPhone’s GPS capabilities. PurpleTalk, meanwhile, is attempting to set up an ad network of applications that use splash pages to cross-promote one another, while running smaller ads alongside.
The plan for the Pinch Media/JumpTap collaboration is to fold iPhone app’s users into vertical ad audiences that can be sold to brand advertisers. The iPhone market is still relatively small when it comes to advertising, the biggest applications might have a million users. A million users is not a tremendous amount of reach when it comes to doing an ad buy. By bundling together an app’s user base with other mobile inventory already represented by JumpTap, developers get a chance to place high-end advertising on their apps, and media buyers can target the popular iPhone user base.
This focus on top-tier advertisers puts the company in opposition to AdMob, according to JumpTap’s CEO. “AdMob is a great business, but really focused on the self-service market and the long tail of direct response. We are focused on premium content.”