Mobile ad network Greystripe is making ads more social and more interactive with today’s launch of new ad units called “Ad Boosters.” There are two types of Ad Boosters available. The first is an industry-focused ad unit with features specific to vertical markets like retail, package goods, automotive, travel, tech, health or restaurants. These units are customizable, letting advertisers insert buttons for specific actions into the ad’s code. For example, a retailer’s ad might include a button for a store locator.
The second ad unit focuses on social networking integrations, with support for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
In addition to one-button access to social networks, the new Ad Boosters currently support “click-to-actions” like:
- Buy
- Deals/Daily Deals
- Coupons
- Video
- Recommend
- Download
- Call
- Store Locator
- Mobile Website
The Ad Boosters provide an additional branded image, typically a logo, in a 300×100 format which appears at the top of the screen. This helps to reinforce the brand, explains Greystripe, while allowing the 300×250 ad unit to focus on the campaign’s message. The actionable buttons, meanwhile, display at the bottom of the screen as brightly colored square tiles.
Select Booster buttons are packaged together and provided as bundles for specific industries, but are completely customizable by advertisers. The Auto Booster, for example, includes a “Learn More” button, “Video” and “Find Dealer” option. The Restaurant Booster offers a “Menu,” “Call” and “Find Restaurant” button. (Wow – time that right and you’ve got an ad I might actually click on.)
Greystripe was acquired in April by ValueClick for approximately $70 million in cash. It now serves media impressions to over 30 million users through more than 3,500 application titles and mobile websites across all major mobile platforms.