bengreen.com

Last weekend’s iPad launch created a demand for iPad-centric advertising platforms.   Google has already tweaked Adwords to give marketers some iPad options, Yahoo will soon follow suit.

As reported by MediaBuyerPlanner.com, Adwords marketers can choose to have their ads displayed to iPad users by selecting “all mobile devices” in their campaign settings. Advertising users can also select “target only selected mobile devices” to choose specific devices or to choose the iPad only.

Yahoo’s strategy gives advertisers support for interactive product placement through Wi-Fi connections, as well as 3G cellular service offered by telecom carrier AT&T. The iPad also has local memory and can cache information. The possibilities for product placement range from animation to video clips to mini games.

The HTML 5 content driven to the device from servers makes the advertising possibilities endless. Since the iPad supports Wi-Fi, and a later version will include cellular service, clicking on a can of Coke, for example,  could take the consumer to a Web site, downloadable gifts, coupons, etc.

The bottom line?  Before investing dollars in ads targeted to this platform, Interactive Marketers need to see some metrics  – specifically we need to look at audience share data, demographics, and overall useage patterns.   The platform shows much promise as both robust a challenging growth environment, as shown by the strong sales numbers on Saturday.    At a minimum, mobile advertising has been redefined, and just alot more attractive and valuable .