Pontiflex, a mobile sign-up ad platform that allows consumers to pick what kind of ads and offers they want to see, has been bringing in big money for mobile publishers. After establishing the case for its business model, New York City-based Pontiflex has been busy expanding the reach of the system. Late last year, it released an international SDK and last month, it opened up a self-serve platform for smaller advertisers to get on to the service. And now, it’s making an even bigger play, introducing an HTML5 API that will enable mobile ad networks and publishers of mobile websites to offer signup ads without having to install an SDK.
Pontiflex’s HTML5 API means that ad networks will be able to offer its sign-up ads along with their other inventory, allowing publishers to easily take advantage of Pontiflex’s ads. MoPub, a real-time bidding marketplace for mobile publishers, is one of the first networks to support Pontiflex’s new API. Mobile websites will also be able to offer sign-up ads for the first time; previously, Pontiflex only supported native apps. The API lets publishers get around installing yet another SDK, which can be chore for some and can expand the size of an app.
Pontiflex, which recently passed 1 billion impressions per month, said that while many publishers are seeing mobile CPMs or cost per 1,000 impressions of 50 cents to $ 2, Pontiflex is generating CPMs in the $ 10 to $ 25 range. That comes from Pontiflex’s take on mobile advertising. Pontiflex lets developers embed an ad that asks users to sign up to hear more from relevant advertisers. Consumers can choose to hand over their name, email address and ZIP code to a brand right from the ad without having to leave the application. Advertisers only pay when a user signs up. Almost 30 million have signed up for ads on Pontiflex’s platform, which has more than 600 enterprise customers on it.
Zepherin Lasker, Pontiflex’s CEO and co-founder, said the HTML5 API was the next logical step for the Pontiflex platform and allows it to reach many more publishers and developers, giving them an easy way to monetize their apps. And that should continue Pontiflex’s growth by letting publishers access sign-up ads through existing ad networks.
“Just as self-serve for advertisers cracks open the small and medium business market, this opens the other side of mirror. It’s huge for us. We believe it will open the market for sign-up ads on a much more liquid level,” Lasker said.
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