Smaato Releases Industry's First Mobile Advertising Price Index

Smaato Inc., the leading mobile supply side platform and mobile ad exchange, today releases its latest mobile advertising pricing guide, the Smaato Index, for app developers and mobile advertisers.

Powered by extensive analytics and a robust pricing engine, the Smaato Index offers real-world metrics to help focus mobile advertising efforts. The Smaato Index helps both advertisers and app developers navigate the complex mobile advertising landscape. For app developers, the Smaato Index helps achieve the highest Average Revenue per User (ARPU). For advertisers, it helps to cost-effectively target the right countries.

"Smaato helps customers gain data-driven decision-making capabilities," said Ragnar Kruse, co-founder and CEO of Smaato. "With our international customer base of over 55,000 application developers and relationships with over 80 ad networks, we measure what's happening in real-time. The Smaato Index provides insight on where to spend ad budgets effectively and where publishers can make the most revenue."

This graphic of the Smaato Index for Q1 2012 represents a percentage of the eCPC average per country by ad network using the U.S. as a baseline of 100 for the overall index.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120628/SF32244-INFO-a) 

Comparing Q4 of 2011 to Q1 of 2012, market volume significantly increased by 26%. This highlights the rapidly expanding mobile advertising market. Due to strong advertiser demand during the end-of-year holiday season, eCPC in Q4 2011 was 30% higher than in Q1 2012.

Regional Insights

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120628/SF32244-INFO-b)  

European markets like Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy should be an important part of any app developer's monetization strategy. In fact, the index reveals that Italian users have a particularly high affinity for mobile advertising in both apps and mobile websites. In addition, Scandinavia's high smartphone penetration and low index score makes it an attractive market for advertisers.

According to Kruse, "The Smaato Index indicates that app developers can now make more money in Western Europe than in the U.S. While for advertisers, the U.S. is now an incredible bargain as they can reach 30% of the U.S. market through smartphones at 30% lower cost than in Western Europe."

With higher smartphone penetration, the Oceania marketplace is growing, therefore providing exciting monetization potential. India and China combined now have as many smartphones as the U.S., making these countries compelling mobile marketplaces. For instance, in China, mobile is becoming the standard for savvy shoppers to search for products and deals.

"Mobile advertising dynamics are quickly evolving in 2012. Rapid smartphone adoption in the U.S. means advertisers will be able to reach 50% of the US population at Christmas 2012 through mobile advertising. Smaato's Index gives app developers the business intelligence needed to make the most revenue," concluded Kruse.