Shopping on the go
eBay the world’s leading online marketplace connects millions of buyers and sellers globally. In 2010, the total worth of goods sold on eBay globally was US$61.7 billion.

eBay's entire portfolio of mobile applications surpassed 50 million downloads globally since
the launch of mobile in 2008. In 2010, consumer’s bought nearly US$2 billion worth of goods
globally through eBay’s mobile applications. This is expected to increase to almost $5 billion in 2011.

eBay’s main iPhone application is available in eight languages and 190 countries and has been downloaded more than 20 million times since its debut in 2008. The company’s Android app is gaining ground apace as Android usage accelerates worldwide.

Down under—all over mobile
Australia is one of eBay’s hottest mobile markets. Between 5 to 10 per cent of Australian iPhone owners log into eBay’s mobile app daily.

On an average day on eBay.com.au, an electronics item is sold every 6 seconds; a laptop every 13 minutes; a sports item every 25 seconds; a car every 22 minutes; and the list goes on.

With AdMob, eBay saw an opportunity to capitalize on the growing popularity of smartphones,
which constitute almost half of traffic in the AdMob network. (1) The company also looked toward to taking advantage of the “stickiness” of smartphone apps: users of iOS and Android platforms regularly spend at least 79 minutes a day using apps. (2)

From tried to true
During the AdMob push, Android app downloads increased 48% when compared with the same time period pre-campaign. Cost-per-click was significantly lower than traditional online display advertising, and cost-per-download. To further advance its mobile initiatives, eBay has created a new mobile-optimized website for eBay.com.au and plans to expand mobile advertising activities.

(1) May 2010 Mobile Metrics Report from Google AdMob (metrics.admob.com)
(2) May 2010 Mobile Metrics Report from Google AdMob (metrics.admob.com)

Posted by Ryan Hayward, Product Marketing Manager

Tablet devices went mainstream this year and people are using them - 65% of consumers who own tablets use them at least one hour per day. Consumers are embracing them as the third digital screen in their lives. Over the last few months, we've researched the ways people use their tablets on a daily basis and have recognized some emerging trends. Shopping, consuming media, gaming are all popular tablet activities according to our recent study. And, daily search trends suggest tablets are used more frequently in the evenings and at nights.

We’ve also looked at how consumers engage with ads on tablets. Our research shows that they have higher expectations of ads on tablets, believing they should be more interactive and touch screen friendly.

To help marketers reach these engaged consumers we are launched new tablet-specific ad formats. On the display side, today we are launching new Rich Media Designs for Mobile.  These new rich media templates will make it easy for advertisers to create rich media ads for tablets using existing assets (photos, logos, etc.) and then implement them across platforms (mobile, tablet and desktop).  Advertisers can use these templates in a number of ways, including to interact with a specific product, feature a collection of products or promote foot traffic to a specific store location.


For tablet search advertisers, we are launching Media Ads in beta this week. Media Ads take advantage of the large, interactive touchscreen by bringing video directly into an ad on the search results page.  Advertisers who want to engage consumers with video content can now use Media Ads to provide an immersive and engaging video watching experience. In addition to watching video game, TV or movie trailers, US consumers will also be able to view locally relevant movie showtimes right within the ad.

Tablet users can view movie, game, and TV trailers in a full screen overlay right from Google.com

These new tablet-specific ad formats build on the launch of new tablet-specific ad formats on AdMob and tablet-targeting in Adwords earlier this year.

While most advertisers do not need to create tablet-only campaigns today, they should start thinking about how they can engage their customers on Tablets in distinct ways and using made-for tablet formats, now and in 2012. Tablets are just getting started and we plan on continuing to invest in building tablet first consumer experiences and ad units.

Posted by: Karim Temsamani, VP of Mobile Ads

Liberty University Online has long been able to reach and engage prospective students as they searched for education options from their desktop computers.  However, with the growth of mobile search activity, Liberty recognized a new opportunity to reach the people on a new platform. Liberty noticed rapid growth in mobile traffic to their own website, which closely mirrored industry-wide trends in mobile usage growth. According to Google internal data, education-related search volume is increasing rapidly and is projected to grow to over 17% by the end of 2011.  

Liberty started advertising their online programs on both desktop and mobile. After seeing initial success, Liberty broke out mobile campaigns for their branded traffic, and continued to monitor and optimize the performance specifically for mobile. Executive Director of Admissions Steve Peterson was surprised at the immediate results from mobile.  

“Sometimes when you’re trying new things, your tolerance is a little higher for what you’re willing to accept,” Steve said.  “The thing that was surprising was how well it performed in a short period of time compared to stuff we’ve been doing for years.  So when you have that out of the gate, we just want to keep scaling until we see some kind of diminishing returns.”

Liberty hasn’t seen diminishing returns yet. In the first six months of mobile-only campaigns, Liberty saw effectiveness and efficiency improve for conversion volume and cost-per-conversion:

• 49% increase in number of conversions
• 50% decrease in cost-per-conversion

Now, Liberty plans to break out mobile traffic from all their campaigns and is pursuing a full-fledged mobile landing page strategy.  Mobile represents both an immediate and long-term opportunity for Liberty.

Full case study can be downloaded here.

Posted by Kevin Otsuka, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Tablets have quickly emerged as a distinct third digital screen in consumers lives that fill the gap between desktops and smartphones. But there are still many open questions about exactly how consumers are using them. We explored tablet search trends earlier this year, but wanted to dig deeper and answer key questions such as: What are the contrasts between tablet use, laptop use, and smartphone use and how are consumers engaging across these devices? What are the most common activities (playing games, searching, reading, etc.) that tablets are used for? What ads are most relevant and useful based on how people are using the devices?

Tablets are for fun, entertainment, relaxation, while laptops are for work
One of our studies, a diary study that had people record every occasion that they used their tablet over a two-week period, found that most consumers use their tablets for fun, entertainment and relaxation while they use their desktop computer or laptop for work. Tablet devices are personal - 91% of the time that people spend on their tablet devices is for personal rather than work related activities. When a consumer gets a tablet, we’ve found that they quickly migrate many of their entertainment activities from laptops and smartphones to this new device.

Tablet owners are building the device into their daily routine. Our research found that the most frequent tablet activities are checking email, playing games and social networking. We also found that people are doing more activities in shorter bursts on weekdays (e.g. social networking, email) while engaging in longer usage sessions on weekends (e.g. watching videos/TV/movies).

Tablets are multi-tasking devices with at least 42% of activities occurring while doing another task or engaging with another entertainment medium. Of all the activities that people do on tablets, checking email, playing games, social networking and searching are the ones most frequently done in front of the TV. Many consumers also used their tablets to check email while eating, and listen to music while cooking.

The activities shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.

Tablets primarily stay home, few travel
But unlike smartphones that go everywhere and laptops that travel between work and home, few consumers take their tablets with them when they leave the house. However, consumers do take their tablets on vacation or work trips where they use them as a laptop replacement and a small number take them on their commute. Interestingly, our recent research found that tablets are for the most part a one-person device, although there are consumers who share their tablet with other family or household members.

Tablets are, however, mobile within the home, with the highest usage taking place on the couch, from the bed and in the kitchen.

The activities and locations shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.

Consumers are shopping on tablets
Many consumers do a lot of window shopping on their tablet and our data shows that they are making more and more purchases on their tablet devices. Indeed, tablets figure to be a significant new way for people to be shopping this holiday season. While shopping they are engaging with familiar brands through social media sites, deals discounts, and navigating directly to trusted shopping sites.

We also found that people are using their tablets for activities that they are also doing in the real world, such as searching for something in their local area, shopping (browsing and purchasing), and managing finances.

For many people, websites and apps designed for smartphones just don’t cut it on tablets. Instead consumers are taking advantage of the bigger screen and prefer using fully featured apps and the full desktop sites on their tablet.

We found that some of those activities also extend to additional devices (e.g. smartphone, laptop, etc.). These activities included shopping (both browsing and purchasing), searching for information, managing finances, checking the calendar and checking email.


Consumers don’t view ads differently on tablets, but they do expect more interactivity
Consumers are engaging with useful, relevant and rich ads that take advantage of the touchscreen interface on tablets. Some consumers expect more interactivity from ads on tablets than they do from ads on their desktop computer.

We believe that tablet ownership will continue to rapidly grow in 2012 and that tablet usage may change over time, particularly as smaller devices come on the market. We plan on continuing to conduct research to understand consumers’ uses of their tablet devices and are excited to share these research insights with you.

Posted by: Jenny Gove and John Webb, User Experience Research, Mobile Ads

Toyota launched its Model AA, the company’s very first passenger car in the 1930s, not long after Ford’s Model A. Now 75 years later and 70 models in its product line, the Japanese automaker is the third-largest car manufacturer in the world and one of its most trusted brands.

Accustomed to its vanguard role in an ever-evolving industry, Toyota immediately embraced the digital marketplace with online marketing campaigns that have naturally morphed from desktop to mobile computing. According to a recent Google/Ipsos survey, 21% of urban Indonesian phone owners own a smartphone, a significant marketing opportunity for Toyota.

Converting iPad users into Toyota customers
With a population of over 300 million in Indonesia, Toyota Indonesia is capitalizing on consumers’ predilection for mobile computing by targeting new and core customers who use an Apple iPad. With more than 25 million people worldwide already toting around the sleek tablet computer, the automaker used Google’s mobile ad network to capitalize on this explosive new marketing channel.

“At Toyota, we pride ourselves in leveraging cutting-edge technology, be it automotive or computing. Reaching out to customers on such an exciting new platform like the iPad really energizes our marketing efforts. Google’s mobile ads provide the critical channel to connect our company with customers,” says Joko Trisanyoto beber, marketing director of Toyota Astra Motor (TAM).

They created the company’s first iPad mobile-optimized site and employed Google’s mobile ads network—encompassing over 89,000 websites and apps worldwide—to target user eyeballs during a 13-day advertising campaign targeted at the vibrant Indonesian market.

Banner ads appeared above or below a broad spectrum of applications—from city-search-sites to currency conversion—touting the download of a customized Toyota application. When people clicked through to the site, they received more information with the option of downloading the M-Toyota app, which delivers information about Toyota products, credit simulations, addresses of dealers, workshops, services, community, price, and other information, all served from a mobile-optimized website.

"Now that information can be obtained easily without having to call and sit at the computer. We make it easy for Toyota owners and those who want to know about Toyota's development," says beber.

The campaign results were encouraging. More than 9,000 users viewed the beckoning banner ad and elected to continue on to the corresponding advert, representing an overall click through rate (CTR) of 1.36%, with nearly 5,660 clicks coming through AdMob. Nearly 4,000 users then proceeded to download the actual application. During the campaign, the M-Toyota application was elevated to the Top 10 Favorite List on the App Store, within the “Lifestyle” category.

For Toyota, advertising on the mobile web is a natural extension of the iconic company’s reputation for cutting-edge innovation. Google AdMob has already become an integral element in the automaker’s marketing efforts to capitalize on the nascent mobile-device marketplace.

Says beber, “The promising results we obtained from this first AdMob campaign validate this exciting new marketing channel. Connecting a smart, affluent demographic like iPad users to the Toyota brand makes perfect sense.”

Posted by Ryan Hayward, Product Marketing Manager

(Cross-posted on the Google Analytics Blog)

Starting this week, some of you will see enhanced Analytics reports with mobile ad performance metrics. All AdWords reports in the new interface will be gaining a new visual toggle as shown below for “All”, “High-end Mobile” and “Tablet” ads.  All AdWords metrics available in Google Analytics can be segmented by these new mobile and tablet dimensions.

 

As more consumers begin to make use of tablets or high-end mobile devices, businesses need to understand this shift towards mobile and adapt your marketing mix. This mobile ads reporting enhancement in Google Analytics is one of many steps that we are taking towards helping you make more sense of how mobile advertising interacts with your business.

Please let us know what you think, and suggest any other mobile measurement options you’d like to see that help make sense of your mobile advertising effectiveness.

Posted by Phil Mui, Google Analytics team

Promoting on-the-go productivity

The Galaxy Tab 7 was Samsung’s first offering in the exploding tablet-computing market, having debuted simultaneously in Asia and the US in late fall 2010. It quickly found critical and consumer advocates for its uncompromising design and functionality. Technology publication Engadget deemed the Tab the “best Android tablet on the market,” adding that the “entire experience was snappy,” while CNET offered: “Galaxy Tab is a beautiful product with features that will make iPad owners envious.”

To heighten the buzz around Galaxy Tab’s product launch in India, Samsung turned to Google  to leverage the powerful AdMob network in the mobile-centric facet of the campaign. Focusing on males aged 18-34—known as the strongest sector of mobile-device users, Samsung was confident that successful persuasion of these early adopters would spur quicker acceptance of tablet computers.

600,000 click-throughs
To spur demand, Samsung marketing developed enticing banner ads that appeared on apps tailored to a young demographic. The ads exhorted viewers to visit the mobile-optimized site; those that did click-through found additional product information and the ability to download a free demo of the Tab.

Not surprisingly, the mobile-ad campaign results for this mobile-savvy country were impressive. More than 600,000 users were enticed to the Samsung site. Of those, 350,000 delved deeper for additional product information and 7,500 gave their phone numbers to secure a demo download.

For Samsung, incorporating AdMob’s advertising network into its overall marketing campaigns has become standard operating procedure—the expenditure translates into the one of the company’s most efficacious uses of marketing dollars.

Posted by Ryan Hayward, Product Marketing Manager