RSS for Cell Phones & Mobile Video: New Channels Emerge for Niche Targeting

Google's announcement at the Syndicate conference in Manhattan last Tuesday couldn't have come at a better time. Google's AdSense for RSS Feeds may be on the cusp of exploding their penetration and ad serving capabilities with cell phone applications. FreeRange Communications is providing a Java-based, RSS news reader for cell phones. AdRants has the story, and a screen snip of the application:

FreeRange joins an increasing number of applications providers (e.g., Microsoft's Smartphone Platform and Palm/Trio) that support and RSS, and open the floodgates for targeted contextual advertising via Google's AdSense.

Mobile video also promises to provide a richer media experience and additional channels for target marketing. Today, AdAge reports that SmartVideo Technologies of Atlanta will launch a free music video channel for cell phones in June. According to AdAge, the service will provide a diverse array of video content, from music videos and ABC News to professional wrestling and Gospel Music Television.

Access to the free video networks is supported by 15 second interstitial ad spots that bookend the selected video clips, as well as sponsor overlays that appear during viewing. AdAge reports: "Marketers that sponsor the program will pay for spots on a cost-per-thousand-viewers basis, ranging between $25 and $50 CPM... SmartVideo also will provide sponsoring marketers with detailed information on how many subscribers saw the ads, their location by city and state, and the time and day the ads were seen."

In a related story last week, MocoNews reported that Lightningcast.com will roll out a "Mobile Video Advertising Solution," which will enable mobile video providers to seamlessly integrate targeted ads into video streams. According to the report, "The key thing about this is that the inserted ads can be targeted to specific demographics, the details of which could be obtained when a user registers for a video service. Alternatively, the ads can be targeted based on location, so people in different cities receive ads localized to them."