MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
CREATVIE MATTERS MOST... AGAIN!
SERIES

www.inmobi.com
14 - 17 FEB, 2011
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CREATIVE MATTERS
MOST... AGAIN

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SERIES:

DEFINING THE NEXT PHASE OF MOBILE ADVERTISING
13 February, 2011

As 2010 came to a close, it was clear that the debate over if “this will be the year of mobile advertising” ended with it.
Good riddance! Mobile advertising is clearly here to stay and it’s absolutely huge. Ad spending figures aside, consumers
have announced their intentions by flocking to mobile, and advertisers have no choice but to follow.

While the journalists and bloggers busily draft lists and make predictions, at InMobi, we decided to take a slightly
different approach. Rather than simply add to the noise, we took a step back and asked ourselves “what will define the
next phase of mobile advertising?”

We chose to develop a series of whitepapers and offer in depth analysis, for a select number of topics. For the series we
discuss three concepts that we think will define the next phase of mobile advertising. We invited partners in the industry
to collaborate with us, and invite you to join the conversation on twitter@inmobi or on our blog at
www.inmobi.com/inmobiblog.

James Lamberti
VP, Global Marketing and Research
InMobi

ABOUT INMOBI
InMobi is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on four continents we provide
advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. Our network is growing fast and
we now deliver the unprecedented ability to reach 194 Million consumers, in over 115 countries, through more than
31.5 Billion mobile ad impressions monthly. We recently were selected as a 2010 AlwaysOn Global 250 Company to
Watch in Silicon Valley.

InMobi is venture-backed with marquee investors including: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures.
The company has offices in London, San Francisco, Bangalore, Tokyo, and Singapore.

© 2011 InMobi. Creative Matters Most... Again. Page 1 www.inmobi.com

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CREATIVE MATTERS
MOST... AGAIN

CREATIVE MATTERS MOST... AGAIN!

WHY MOBILE ADVERTISING WILL IGNITE A CREATIVE RENAISSANCE
Steve Jobs said, “Most mobile advertising really sucks.” We at InMobi agree. While our approach may be different
than that of Mr. Jobs, it’s impossible to deny that iAd brought some much-needed attention to mobile creative
execution. We’re convinced the important differences between mobile and the PC Web will spark the re-mergence of
creative as a driving force in digital advertising.

Creative’s impact on advertising is well understood and has been the focus of agencies for almost all of the 20th
century. As advertising began its migration to the PC Web the expectations were sky high. But after 10, instead of
ushering in a new era of creativity, Internet advertising creative has a tarnished reputation.

Creative on the Internet is generally viewed as either a nuisance, with the continued persistent of unfriendly formats
such as pop up windows. Or it’s factual and mundane, lacking all emotional impact. For example formats such as
Google search ad copy or tiny graphical ad badges offer little opportunity for creative talents to shine. To illustrate this
point I sometimes ask audiences when I speak, “When was the last time you saw a PC banner ad that you actually
remember?” and I usually answers this myself with, “Never.”
On mobile things are going to be different.

MOBILE ADVERTISING IGNITES A CREATIVE RENAISSANCE

Creative with high production values has already had a huge impact in the mobile advertising space. iAd alone
doubled the spending on mobile display in the U.S. and this demonstrates a real pent-up demand for high quality
creative in the mobile channel. Advertisers driven by the demise of television viewership, the failure of creative on the
PC Web, and the success of performance base advertising in digital, now see a golden opportunity to leverage the
creative potential of mobile devices.

© 2011 InMobi. Creative Matters Most... Again. Page 2 www.inmobi.com

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WHY CREATIVE ON THE PC WEB FAILED

Creative did not work on the PC Web like it did in televisions for a variety of reasons. Initially the PC Web did not support
animation, video, and website design was visually austere, and progressed only to become more cluttered and confusing.
But the least quantifiable and what I believe is the most impactful reason why advertising creative never evolved, is the
nature of the content that drove the PC Web’s success.

Figure 1. The Mobile User Experience Is Free Of Clutter

PC Web deisgn is cluttered and confusing. The ads Mobile design is simple and straightforward.
are hard to find, and generally ignored by users. The advertisements take center stage.

The PC Web is primarily a fact-based medium. Consumers love to “Google” facts and figures, look-up information in
Wikipedia, read the news online, get driving directions, research major purchases, browse travel sites, the list is endless.
But what all these tasks have in common is that they are fact based. The entire medium lacks a major element that has
traditionally made advertising on television so compelling. That essential element is, fiction.

The lack of fictional content is what drove the advertising to all be fact based. Performance based ads with compelling
offers and coupons succeeded, because the PC Web became synonymous with factual content. There was no place for
fiction.

© 2011 InMobi. Creative Matters Most... Again. Page 3 www.inmobi.com

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MOBILE, YOUR PERSONAL ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATION

Mobile content on the other hand is almost entirely entrainment or fiction based. Games are by far the most popular
form on content on the iPhone. The charts on the iTunes store are dominated by games and entertainment apps. With
the monumental success of Angry Birds, this game alone is poised to define the medium, much in the same way
Pac-Man did for early video games. Consumers will soon clearly see this division of content by device. The PC will be
relegated back to the office, and survive purely as mundane business machine, relegated to boring and serious tasks.
The smartphone will be the “fun place”, where you go to relax and be entertained – exactly like television.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ADVERTISERS?

For advertisers this means high impact creative execution will be the new standard on mobile devices. Consumers will
expect the advertising to be as entertaining as the content. While we have seen movies and games pioneer mobile
advertising, youthful brands, such as athletic apparel and inexpensive cars have been quick to follow. In 2011, as the
smartphone moves from the early adopter to the mainstream, expect to see more conservative brands embrace mobile
and its creative potential.

Gregory Kennedy, InMobi

3D MOBILE ADS FROM COOLIRIS

InMobi is partnering with Cooliris, a
leading edge company from Silicon
Valley, to develop 3D mobile ads.
The technology utilizes the ability of
most smartphones and tablets to
detect the position of the device and
then rotates a 3D object, embedded
in an ad in real time.

© 2011 InMobi. Creative Matters Most... Again. Page 4 www.inmobi.com