This article is more than 1 year old

Google adds 'nuclear' AdWords to 'explosive' AdMob

Mobile advertising goes BANG!

Ad giant Google has opened up its AdWords system to mobile devices by slotting the network into its AdMob mobile app advertising platform.

This means that the company's 1-million-strong ad partners can now run campaigns on 350 million smartphones and fondleslabs running hundreds of thousands of apps within its mobile network for ads.

Google announced the cross-pollination of its two ad networks yesterday.

The firm's mobile ads product boss Jonathan Alferness said: "As mobile usage continues to explode, businesses increasingly need to adapt their marketing strategies to mobile platforms and mobile-specific consumer trends."

Google bought AdMob for $750m in 2009 and, in doing so, immediately came under the watchful eye of US antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commission, but the deal was eventually cleared.

The company has been working on a one-stop-shop for advertisers for some time now. It acquired desktop online banner ad outfit DoubleClick way back in 2007, and, having built up such a patchwork quilt of ad networks, it was clear that eventually Google would want to knit them all together.

Google's mobile sales and strategy boss Jason Spero told Ad Age that AdWords was the "nuclear power plant at the core" of Mountain View.

We at Vulture Central are less clear about what this means for AdMob. Is it a sinister weapon of mass destruction or simply warm fuzzy goo to help keep the lights on? We'll leave that one to you, dear readers. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like