There continue to be conflicting views as to whether iPhone developers actually make money from ads on the iPhone. One issue is that free app developers who advertise in games end up paying on a CPC basis, in which the click takes the visitor to the App Store. But often times the actual download doesn’t take place, so the developer is left paying for clicks that don’t produce conversions, says mobile game advertising network Greystripe. Now the network is changing its ad network economics around to help developers mitigate this issue.

Greystripe is offering a $0.99 per download program available today to guarantee iPhone application developers downloads of their free apps. Of course, this comes with a catch. Greystripe is offering download program to publishers who spend a minimum of $10,000 and is being offered on a limited basis to the first 200 developers who apply. The first 100 qualifying developers who email techcrunch@greystripe.com will gain instant access to the program.

Greystripe’s says that its rich media full-screen ads generate higher click through rates and are able to generate better revenue to its publishers. Based on this, the network thinks it can run a pay per download program that works for its publishers and advertisers. Greystripe also recently introduced a guaranteed CPC program. Although Greystripe claims its rates are higher, we’ve heard they are on par with AdMob’s rates.

It’s important to note that with Google’s acquisition of AdMob, other mobile ad networks may be left scrambling. Greystripe is not only aiming to make their network for attractive, but is also trying to provide an incentive for developers who are using other ad networks to switch over. Google has high hopes for AdMob and it should certainly continue to be the leader of the pack in the future. That being said, Greystripe has been able to raised several rounds of VC funding and even got a $2 million infusion from NBC. It should be interesting to see how the smaller ad networks like Greystripe, Videogg and others fare against Google-owned AdMob.

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A few months ago, we wrote about mobile ad network Greystripe’s study that placed “iPhone moms” (mothers of young children who own iPhones) as one of the new and growing mobile advertising demographics on the street. In August, Greystripe claimed that iPhone moms made up 29.5% of all iPhone users. Today, the ad network is releasing a follow-up report which offers detailed behavioral characteristics of moms in their iPhone ad network. Similar to the “soccer moms” demographic, iPhone moms are a consumer segment that has vast potential for advertisers and app developers.

The report shows several interesting patterns. For example, over 59% of iPhone moms surveyed say they let their children use their iPhone. And 41% of moms who own iPhons download apps specifically for their children to use.

Shopping is another key use of the iPhone for moms. Close to 60% of iPhone moms depend on their phone to locate the nearest store around them while 41.94% of moms use the iPhone to keep track of shopping lists. Other shopping activities include comparison shopping, (39.43%) downloading coupons (19%) or keeping track of items on sale (22.94%).

When it comes to actually shopping at the grocery store, a little over half of iPhone moms use their phones at the grocery store, with 40.14% using it as a shopping list tool and 22.58% using it as a recipe resource at the store.

Unsurprisingly, close to 90% of moms who have iPhones use it for personal entertainment which includes listening to music, browsing the Internet or using entertainment apps. Email comes in at a close second place with over 79.57% of iPhone moms surveyed using their phone for checking messages. And it seems that many moms use the device as an organizational tool with over 64% of iPhone moms using their phones to manage their calendar and schedule, which is 9% higher than the rest of the iPhone community as a whole.

Moms are looking to the iPhone and other smartphones as both a valuable organizational tool and an entertainment portal, making the iPhone a valuable advertising platform. While Greystripe says that this demographic have tended to be late adopters, I’m not so sure if this is true considering the rapid growth of “Mommy bloggers” over the past few years. There’s a blog that’s devoted to iPhone Moms and offers recommendations for kid and baby-friendly iPhone apps for moms to download.

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Greystripe, the mobile brand and game advertising network has secured $2 million in an extended series C funding round from General Electric and NBC Universal’s Peacock Equity Fund. The startup originally raised $5.5 million in the series C round in March from Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, Incubic Venture Capital and Monitor Ventures.

Greystripe has raised a total of $17.6 million in funding since the company’s launch in 2006. Greystripe’s Founder and CEO Michael Chang tells us that the most recent funding will be used to expand the company’s sales team and efforts to work with publishers. Greystripe capitalized on strong growth in its mobile content distribution and monetization business, particularly with the iPhone.

Greystripe recently started to integrate mobile-centric ad campaigns with industry-accepted online media buying software. This integration allows for ad agencies to easily add mobile ads with one click and also allows for Flash advertisements to appear on the iPhone (a proprietary technology that Greystripe developed). Ads can be used for both online and mobile purposes.

Greystripe is trying to integrate mobile ad campaigns into online ad budgets as part of a greater brand strategy. Greystripe has partnered with several brands and companies, including Kia, Axe Unilever, Jeep, Paramount Pictures, and JC Penney to leverage the mobile ad market. According to Greystripe, Unilever Axe saw a 15% brand lift. Greystripe also partnered with Universal Pictures (owned by NBC Universal) for an iPhone ad campaign the movie, “A Perfect Getaway,” which was distributed by studio. Greystripe says that 8% of users who viewed the entire ad experience clicking through to view the trailer. Competitors to Greystripe include VideoEgg and AdMob, which recently acquired AdWhirl.

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According to a recent study done by mobile ad network Greystripe, there’s a relatively new mobile advertising demographic on the street: iPhone moms. Similar to the “soccer moms” demographic, iPhone moms could be a new consumer segment that has vast potential for advertisers and app developers. Greystripe says that “iPhone moms,” which constitute women (with children) who own iPhones, currently make up 29.5% of all iPhone users.

Greystripe says that in the past, “soccer moms” has not been a group that advertisers
could reach through mobile applications because they tended to be late adopters. I’m not so sure about this assertion, considering the rapid growth of “Mommy bloggers” over the past few years. But as the iPhone becomes central to moms to manage finances, family budgets, to-do lists and vacations, it’s sure to become a valuable and portable personal computer and too for the Mommy demographic. There’s even a blog that’s popped up devoted to iPhone Moms. And Moms use the iPhone not just for themselves, but to download kid-friendly apps for their children to use.

The ad report surveyed a group of iPhone moms as part of their quarterly Advertising Insights Report, and has collected statics on the demographics and preferences of moms in their ad network. Some of the stats may be intriguing to both advertisers and app developers. For example, on average, 96.2% of moms who own iPhones are involved in household purchase decisions, showing the purchasing power fo this particular demographic. Of iPhone moms with four or more children, 92.3% own a gaming console compared to 50% of iPhone moms with one child and 69.9% of iPhone Moms surveyed own a Nintendo Wii.

It appears that Blackberrys and other smartphones are other phones are becoming increasingly popular amongst the mommy demographic as well.

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Google is moving into the mobile ad market with AdSense for mobile apps. Over the past few months, Google has been testing both text and graphical ads with ten mobile app developers, including Shazam and Urbanspoon. Today it is opening the private beta to more developers who meet certain criteria.

These are contextual ads for iPhone and Android apps. They can be targeted by “applications, locations, categories, or keywords,” according to Google’s Mobile AdSense information page. To qualify for the public beta, the apps must be free and generate at least 100,000 pageviews per day. The program is only for iPhone or Android apps. Developers must be ready to go live with the ads in four weeks and participate for three months.

Developers with 100,000 pageviews a day is still a limited set of the top free apps, but Google is serious about competing in this market. Mobile ad startups such as AdMob and Greystripe are now officially in Google’s direct line of fire.

Google is keeping things small right now to test out different ways to target ads inside apps, but it can pull out the big guns any time it wants. It already has more advertisers than any startup ad network and thus has a clear advantage when it comes to filling up mobile ad inventory. Although it is separate now, when marketers can check mobile apps as part of their overall AdSense campaigns, there should be a lot more bidding for those mobile ad spots within iPhone and Android apps, and those mobile ad rates should go up as a consequence.

Mobile app developers are going to sign up whichever ad network can give them the highest CPMs, and will swap out the ones which can’t keep up. Already, we are seeing some jostling for position among the mobile ad network startups. AdMob just kicked out AdWhirl from showing ads within its platform. I wonder if AdMob will allow Mobile AdSense ads on its network.

Update: AdMob responds that it will work with any mobile app developer on a non-exclusive basis and that developers which have established a direct relationship with AdMob can work with competing ad networks.

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There have been questions as to whether iPhone developers can make significant revenue from ads on the iPhone, mainly because the supply of advertisers can’t keep up with the demand for iPhone apps. Others say that developers actually can make quite a bit from ads on free apps. Mobile game advertising network Greystripe is in that camp and it is launching a new CPM Protection Program designed to guarantee ad revenue to iPhone app developers.

Greystripe says that the various mobile ad networks, including competitor AdMob, are undercutting each others’ CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) when competing for advertising dollars, thus leaving iPhone app developers with lower CPMs overall. Greystripe’s CPM Protection Program offers to beat any other ad networks’ eCPM by at least 25% for 60 days.

Greystripe claims that their rates are higher because of their rich media ad formats that use a Flash ad format, giving advertisers more creative options when it comes to developing interactive ads. Another explanation for Greystripe’s higher CPMs is that they are trying to buy market share.

Greystripe’s eCPMs come in at around $1.50 to $2.00, which the company says is higher than the average CPM delivered by other networks. In a guest post written by an iPhone developer on TechCrunch, the developer reported CPMs of $0.23 with ads powered by AdMob. But this data is anecdotal and based on one developer’s circumstance. I find it hard to imagine that the CPM of $0.23 is an average for AdMob. We contacted AdMob to see what their average eCPMs are and they fall into a similar range as Greystripe’s: $1.00-2.00.

It’s clear that Greystripe is trying to provide an incentive for developers who are using other ad networks to switch over (the program requires that developers have used another ad network). But the issue with switching ad networks is that developers have to change the code of ads and then reapply in the App Store, which we all know can be a hassle. Also, while Greystripe promises to lock in ad rates for developers for 60 days, it’s unclear what happens following that time period to rates. Once the 60 days are up, eCPMs could fall dramatically.

It’s definitely interesting to see Greystripe’s approach to competing against mobile ad platforms like AdMob, Videoegg and others. Widely popular and well-funded AdMob is a formidable competitor in the space.

Photo credit/Flickr/WilliamHook

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Mobile game advertising network Greystripe secured $5.5 million in Series C funding led by Incubic Venture Capital, Steamboat Ventures and Monitor Ventures. The company previously received a total of $10.1 million in Series A and B funding, with the same investors participating. Greystripe develops “advergames,” mobile ads that have game-like characteristics designed to increase the chances of consumers clicking on them. Greystripe has delivered 180 million ad-supported game and app downloads to date.

Greystripe has capitalized on strong growth in its mobile content distribution and monetization business, particularly with the iPhone. Greystripe is now trying to integrate mobile-centric ad campaigns with industry-accepted online media buying software. This unified integration allows for ad agencies to easily add mobile ads with one click and also allows for Flash advertisementsto appear on the iPhone (a technology that Greystripe developed). Ads can be used for both online and mobile purposes.

Greystripe is trying to integrate mobile ad campaigns into online ad budgets. Greystripe says its recent mobile ad campaign with Unilever Axe (which came out of Axe’s online ad budget) saw a 15% brand lift. The company says that despite growth in the mobile ad market, many brands are still hesitant to reach out to mobile advertising. They hope that the integration of mobile and online advertising for both monetary purposes and in implementation will boost mobile ad sales.

Other mobile ad networks that have iPhone specific applications, like AdMob, have received a vote of confidence through VC funding recently. AdMob has seen similar success in iPhone mobile ads, with the company serving 250 million ads last year.

Here’s a screenshot of a Greystripe advertisement but you can find a sample here:

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Mobile game ad network Greystripe has hit 140 million ad-supported game downloads thanks to iPhone users. In the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, it supported 30 million downloads. All of these ad-supported and Greystripe says that over 50 percent of ad impressions are from iPhone games. The ads themselves have game-like characteristics designed to increase the chances of consumers clicking on them and playing with them, hence “advergames.”

Last summer, TechCrunch reported that Greystripe turned its attention to the iPhone, and is subsequently seeing an increase in downloads and ad impressions. In fact, Greystripe’s Top 10 Total Games (by ad impression) are all iPhone games. In December, the company created its own version of Adobe Flash for the iPhone, which Apple currently prohibits on the iPhone, that would allow advertisers to use rich media flash ads. The company is making the iPhone market a “priority for the foreseeable future,” finding that the device is a much more successful ad platform for gaming than Java devices.

Greystripe is not the first ad network to see potential in the iPhone-other mobile ad networks have followed suite. TechCrunch reported last November that ad network Videoegg extended its ads to the iPhone. Other iPhone ad networks include : AdMob, Medialets, and PinchMedia.

Some of Greystripes top games on the iPhone include 21 Pro, Blackjack, Cookie Bonus Solitaire, Origami Rose, and Powerboat Racing. None of these are top game apps in the iTunes Store, however.

Greystripe also distributes ad-supported free games and applications through its consumer site GameJump, as well as through the iPhone App Store in iTunes. The company inserts ads into more than 900 game titles from 100 publishers that can be downloaded onto mobile phones. Advertisers on Greystripe’s iPhone and Java games including New Line Cinema, Burger King, Jeep, Speedy Oil Change, Dunlop, Xbox, Leap Frog and Axe.

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The current iPhone App Store revenue share model – a 70/30 split for the sale of apps, generally in the $0.99-$9.99 range – doesn’t exactly reward developers for producing addictive games. Greystripe, an advertising network for mobile games, has stepped in to compensate developers for every time their games are played, not just for when those games are initially sold.

Greystripe has actually been distributing free games and applications for about 1,400 handset models since 2006, mainly through its consumer site GameJump. The site offers mobile gamers a catalog of 800 games from 120 game publishers that can be downloaded directly to phones through mobile browsers. GameJump has experienced 75 million downloads so far, a big jump since last summer when they reached 14 million.

Now the company is turning its attention to the iPhone by providing developers with pre-, interstitial and post-roll ads from advertisers like Best Buy, eBay, Yahoo!, New Line Cinema, the US Army, Wal-Mart and Subway. Greystripe claims it will deliver a 10.1% click-through rate (CTR) when other mobile advertisers are averaging a 1-2% CTR.

To begin competing in a competitive mobile ad market, Greystripe is offering iPhone developers 100% of their in-game ad revenue until they reach $10,000. If you’re an iPhone developer, you can register for the network here.

Other iPhone ad networks include: AppLoop, a recently launched location-based iPhone ad network; AdMob, a browser-based ad network with iPhone-specific advertisements that has served almost 250 million ads; and new-comer Medialets.

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The Playyoo Game Contest is open to independent mobile game developers using Adobe Flash Lite; prizes include cash and promotional goods. Winners will be selected by Playyoo members based on download popularity and user ratings as at February 28, 2008.

Officially launching in December, Playyoo will offer a sort of YouTube for a mobile gaming that offers free games for mobile phones, user-generated content, social interaction and personal expression. Features will include:

• A “Easy discovery and download process” that will allow mobile phone users to find games of interest through the Playyoo platform. The site will provide personalized recommendations based on each user’s preferences and those of friends.
• Game creation tools that will allow users with no experience to design their own games
• Social networking features that will allow developers and users who interact with others

Playyoo promises an interesting offering that in part seems to be a logical, interactive step forward from the tried and million times cloned YouTube model. Playyoo will compete directly against Greystripe, another company offering free mobile games, but with licensed product as opposed to UGC (see our previous coverage here). I suspect there will be room in the market for both models, the interesting part to watch will be seeing which model becomes the more popular over time.

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Gamejump.com’s model provides downloadable mobile gaming content ad supported and free in a market where paid downloads are the norm. Ads are displayed before and after each game.

Greystripe took $8.9million in Series B funding in May, in a round led by Steamboat Ventures, the VC arm of the Walt Disney Company; good credentials for a gaming content provider.

Gamejump.com features 800 games by 70 publishers and includes a variety of genres to appeal to different users. Gamejump has seen users download an average of 3.4 games each and the number of females users downloading games has been fairly close to the number of male users.

Greystripe recently signed a deal with Konami, the publisher of titles including Frogger and Dance Dance Revolution, that will see Konami’s extensive catalog of games being provided for free to Gamejump.com users. The paid mobile download industry likes to label free game services as delivering inferior quality; the provision of Konami content would seem to suggest that this isn’t the case, and certainly it’s a positive sign that the free ad-supported model of mobile gaming may actually be a winner.

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