Agora Media Group Innovation Blog

On the 21st of May, the FTC announced it has closed its investigation of Google’s proposed acquisition of AdMob, a mobile advertising network company.

Although the Commission said the combination raised serious antitrust issues, it reports:

[...]the agency’s concerns ultimately were overshadowed by recent developments in the market, most notably a move by Apple Computer Inc. – the maker of the iPhone – to launch its own, competing mobile ad network.

MobileMarketer has formulated nine implications for the mobile eco-system by this approval:
*Apple has competition
*Validation
*More brands to enter mobile
*Mobile CRM
*Multichannel is here
*Growth of Android
*More choice for brands and marketers
*Relevancy
*Mobile advertising will grow

With the acquisition, Google will have a 21% market share according to market researcher IDC, that estimates the market shares for the mobile ad networks (November 2009).

Both eMarketer and Gartner predict a steep growth in Mobile advertising spend.

Gartner projects that the worldwide revenue for mobile advertising will be $13.5 billion in 2013, up from around $500 million in 2008.

At the end of MobileMarketers’ article, interesting opinions from the industry are placed. Amongst them of course a quote by Google and AdMob.

What do you think of the approval of Google’s acquisition?
From a strategic marketing point of view, Multichannel strategies will become more and more visible.
Siloed campaigns will become obsolete, new crossmedia and transmedia concepts will be created  and more competition will arise.