Mobile advertising software helps companies advertise on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. These products enable advertisers to buy, manage, and place mobile ads; this includes mobile banner and video ads, interstitial ads that take up a device’s full screen, or ads that appear in mobile applications. Mobile advertising is typically managed by a company’s marketing team or a third-party ad agency to drive both brand awareness and direct response initiatives.
The purpose of mobile advertising software is to help advertisers reach consumers on their mobile devices rather than their computers. Functionality is typically offered in conjunction with other ad channels, usually as part of a cross-channel advertising platform, which may also include capabilities across search advertising software, display advertising software, social media advertising software, and video advertising software. Mobile advertising products may also function as a demand side platform (DSP) to serve ads in real time through a process called real-time bidding (RTB). Mobile advertising platforms are paralleled by app monetization software on the publisher's side, which they use to create and sell ad inventory within mobile apps, while several publisher ad servers offer publishers the ability to create and sell inventory on mobile websites.
To qualify for inclusion in the Mobile Advertising category, a product must:
- Offer tools for uploading or creating mobile ads such as mobile banners, mobile video, interstitial, or in-app ads
- Enable users to buy and serve mobile ads to websites via ad networks, ad exchanges, or directly with app developers and mobile website publishers
- Provide workflows for effectively managing and trafficking ads within the platform
- Track key success metrics such as reach, conversions, and RoAS
