A New Class of Mobile Display Advertisement

Today, Yahoo! is thrilled to run the first of a new class of interactive mobile display advertisements that leverage HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to deliver more engaging experiences for our advertisers and users.

Mobile display ads generally take the form of static banners across the top and bottom of the screen. Although behavioral targeting has drastically increased the effectiveness of all display ads, it has been challenging to engage mobile users at the same level as desktop. With advancements in smartphone technology and the next generation of HTML5 browsers, it is now possible to display highly engaging and interactive Rich Media content on high-end mobile devices.

While there has been a lot of buzz about HTML5, much of the investment has been focused on mobile web development. Many mobile sites have been upgraded to feature compelling interactive content for smartphone users. However from an advertiser point of view, banner campaigns remain the norm. At Yahoo!, we believe the Rich Media experience starts before the click and encompasses the transition to an advertiser’s landing page. This new class of mobile display format bridges the gap between traditional banners and landing pages with creative executions of interactive advertisements.

Take a look at our first campaign developed in collaboration with Paramount and DreamWorks Animation for the upcoming summer blockbuster Shrek Forever After (opening May 21, 2010):

As a leading publisher with an integrated ad network, Yahoo! is well positioned to offer the highest quality mobile inventory available, a deeply-engaged user base and reach to deliver custom creative ads at scale that complement the user experience. These ads have been designed specifically to fit within Yahoo! pages to offer the best experience for the user as well as meet the needs of the advertiser.

Going forward you can expect to see more ads that are tailored to the way people use mobile or that take advantage of particular attributes of mobile devices.  For example, we know users like to “content snack” on mobile and ads that offer video or creative interactivity can be very successful.

Do you like what you see? Leave us a comment, let us know what you think!

You can catch the Shrek Forever After campaign exclusively from an iPhone on the Yahoo! Homepage (http://m.yahoo.com) and Yahoo! Movies (http://m.yahoo.com/movies) from May 20 to May 22.

Mandar Shinde & Calvin Hung

Product Marketing, Yahoo! Mobile