AOL?s Platform-A yesterday
announced it will be offering application developers for popular social networking sites Facebook and Bebo a guaranteed CPM (cost per one thousand impressions), which it claims is one of the highest rates offered. AOL feel that this continues to demonstrate its sustained confidence in the value of social advertising, following its
acquisition of Bebo in May 2008.
Dave Jacobs, senior vice president of publisher services at
Platform-A feels that the move is a significant move for developers as they will have less time taken up with monetization concerns, and can instead concentrate on the conception and realisation of their products. He comments, ?This announcement reinforces Platform-A?s commitment to helping developers generate revenue and monetize their Bebo and Facebook applications in the rapidly evolving social networking space. Advertiser interest in social networks is rising at a steady rate, and Platform-A is making an unprecedented flat-fee commitment to help application developers generate revenue and guarantee monetization of their applications.?
For advertisers, social networking applications are no less of an opportunity. Whether they are large or small, complex or simple, useful or just plain fun, their sheer number ? over 30,000 are available at the time of writing ? and popularity with social network users make them a vehicle of choice for promotional content. Bebo, for instance has more than 4,000 to date, and 42 million plus users worldwide.
Currently restricted to the US, this program will be expanded to offer guaranteed CPMs for European Bebo and Facebook application developers this summer.
This move by
AOL, comes as a second item of good news to the developers of applications for both
Bebo and
Facebook, after the launching earlier this year of Platform-A?s WIDGNET? publisher network, a system that makes it possible to insert advertising content directly into applications such as widgets. Its implementation has permitted developers to draw from Platform-A?s vast base of brand and performance advertisers.