Andrea Bauer

Yahoo Europe has launched a pitch to build up a network of mobile agencies that will help it offer a one-stop shop to advertisers, in an effort to boost ad sales throughout its European operations, reports NMA.co.uk. In the past, Yahoo worked with agencies on an informal basis, but wants a more formal roster that it can turn to to help advertisers develop mobile ads. Yahoo Europe’s director of monetisation of Connected Life Charles Sword said it was “vital” to simplify the process of buying ads. In the UK, Yahoo has search or ad sales deals with the UK’s top operators. It currently handles the mobile ad sales for T-Mobile, Vodafone and Three, with Virgin Media signing Yahoo earlier this month to provide search for the MVNO’s mobile portal.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Mobileeurope.co.uk, Sword gave an optimistic picture of mobile advertising in 2009. He noted that customer behavior has changed, in large part to social networking going mobile, which has led to a “huge upsurge” in the use of Yahoo Mail and Messenger on mobile, which doubled in the first three quarters of 2008. Sword told Mobileeurope.co.uk that the numbers were beginning to sway a lot of agencies who had been “a little sceptical” of mobile advertising, and that Yahoo was getting a greater participation by brands, and more repeat business.

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U.K.-based Taptu, which is developing a mobile search engine, has raised about $10 million (6.45 million pounds) in a second round of funding. Participating in the round were existing investors 3i and Sofinnova. In total, the company has now raised 11.45 million pounds. In addition, the company appointed Andreas Bernstrom to the position of COO. Bernstrom, who has been working part-time with the company for almost six months, said the funding will go towards increasing its userbase and figuring out how best to monetize the search engine. The company, which was founded in 2007, launched its first mobile search service in February, and now claims about 1 million searches on a daily basis on its Wap site worldwide. Bernstrom will be charged with growing the number of searches, and forming partnerships with carriers and other mobile sites.

Taptu Mobile Search with Steve Ives from Dutchcowboys on Vimeo.

The company, which has 40 employees, will face stiff competition from companies like Google and Yahoo, but also from fairly established startups like Jumptap and Medio Systems. How will Taptu differentiate itself? Bernstrom: “That was the first question I asked as well. The guys have spent a great deal of time looking at what people use their mobile phones for, and how they engage with mobile phones, and what search will be used for if it’s over the mobile phone. It’s markedly different than the desktop….For instance, 60 percent of the content people search for is entertainment related. The mobile phone is really social.” He said that means knowing that a search result will fit on the smaller screen, but also that the results should easily be shared via SMS or on a social network.

Prior to Taptu, Bernstrom was the COO at TradeDoubler, an Internet marketing company that had more than 550 employees. He was responsible for expanding TradeDoubler.

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Mobile advertising is hitting its stride. A year ago, ads on cellphones were pricey and considered experimental, and while they still may not be mainstream, there’s some rationalization going on. Prices are dropping, inventory is increasing, and the value of placing an ad on the cellphone is better understood. The maturing and stabilizing of the market isn’t escaping opportunists, like venture capitalists. Start-ups that count on wireless ad sales are still getting their fair share of venture funding, reports Investor’s Business Daily (via Cellular-News).

For instance, the article says Blyk, which offers mobile-phone subscribers free calls and text messages if they agree to receive ads on their phones, has recently raised more than $50 million from private investors, while AdMob, which operates a mobile ad network, has raised $15.7 million. But there are others, too. Other mobile advertising companies that have recently announced rounds include: Transpera, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based mobile video platform company that allows for an ad-supported model, raised $8.25 million; MoVoxx, also based in Santa Monica, raised an undisclosed round to help brands integrate ads into SMS campaigns; and Chicago-based Vibes Media, a mobile marketing company, raised $15 million.

Still, there’s a lot to be proven, and now more than ever it may be difficult with advertisers and agencies cutting budgets. Investor’s Business Daily reported hat research firm eMarketer likely will soon lower its mobile ad forecast. eMarketer’s spokesman Samson Adepoju said: “(Our) projections will almost certainly be trimmed,” he said. “How much remains to be seen.” The firm’s most recent forecast dates back to March, when it said U.S. revenue from mobile display ads would rise to $541 million in 2012 from $85 million in 2008, and search ads would rise to $1.48 billion from just $107 million.

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The number of iPhone applications recently reached 10,000, but these applications did not get there easily. Once a developer completes an app, its placement in the app store is subject to Apple’s unspecified review criteria. If it gets approved, chances of it being duplicated and made available for free are high.

TouchType, a program that allows iPhone users to type emails in landscape mode,allowed for an easier to use keyboard than the default touch keyboard. The $1 app made the developer 70-cents a sale. A week later Firemail was introduced, which did exactly what TouchType did but was available to download for free. It turned out TouchType was under Apple review for two months while it took Firemail less than a week to get approved. Apple didn’t respond to questions regarding this or similar cases.

Copyright is difficult to enforce for determing whose application is first in Apple’s store. In previous cases, people relied on getting out there first and establishing intellectual property rights. But in Apple’s case, this is hard to do. Maybe we’ll see law schools develop a concentration for iPhone App Store rights soon.

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