11 Nov Skype Raises the Bar in Mobile Advertising

Skype, owned by Microsoft, recently introduced a rich media mobile placement for iPhone in select markets and plans to bring advertising to its Android app soon after.

Mobile is a growing area of the Skype business, according to Adweek and the GM of Skype Advertising. A third of the company’s 300 million monthly users access Skype on mobile, she said, and Skype’s Android app recently hit its 100 millionth download.

Like many big companies, the move to mobile is where they must see their future. It’s great that they see that the mobile side will be a huge and important part of their monetization strategy. The company had been more focused on its PC offering to date.

Ford was one of the first brands to utilize the rich media units. The company ran pilot tests over the past month and is continuing as launch sponsors on iPhone.

Skype’s rich media units are available for iPhone in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Germany and France. The rich media units will soon be available on Android in those same countries as well as Russia.

What does the ad look like? It starts as a 320×50 mobile banner, then expands to 320×416 after users choose to interact with the ad. The unit can support audio, video, animation and other features.

What does this mean for your business? Will you take advantage? Share by commenting below!