In App Ads Tipping Point?

Retail Giant, Walmart continuing to focus on reaching new targets is running in-app banner ads on iPhones. Walmart’s ads appear in the NBC Today Shows Recipe App.

Interestingly the Walmart call to action featured in the Today Show in-App Ad is to download Walmart’s own iPhone App, which is focused on helping shoppers find great deals.

In addition to Walmart, Microsoft, Unilever and others are testing In-App Ads which means many more retailers and manufacturers will likely soon follow.

What should Google Fear in the New Year?

Turnabout is fair play - With Google jumping into the handset market in 2009 with the Andriod targeting Apple, it only seems just that the one of the first big announcements of 2010 is that Apple is shifting its startegy to jump into the digital media space.

Apple has acquired Quattro Wireless for $275MM to compete with Google and their acquisition of AdMob putting them in the mobile advertising space for the first time. Quattro Wireless is the 5th largest Mobile Ad Network with 7% share.

The acquisition leads to key, intriguing questions for the year ahead:

1. Who's next? With only a few big players left in the Mobile Advertising space left, who will Yahoo and Microsoft Gobble Up?
2. How will Apple navigate new territory?

Its only the first week of the New Year and the Mobile space is setting up for a very interesting year.