Last week DIGIDAY’s Mike Shields wrote about how Facebook, with one of the most popular apps and mobile sites, doesn’t run mobile ads.
Ben Kunz, director of strategic planning at Mediassociates, thinks the reason has little to do with advertising. In his view, Kunz is after a far larger market than just the mobile ad business. It wants nothing less than to compete with Apple, Google, American Express and other giants to become the mobile wallet.
Facebook has a choice: It could clutter up its tiny mobile interface with ads, potentially turning off mobile users, or it could include a new beneficial service that helps users make payments with cell phones, while charging an invisible, small slice to merchants. Hmm. Which would you Like?
There’s no doubt Facebook faces many directions it can go with its massive and engaged user base. With its fledgling virtual currency, it might just be after a much larger prize than cracking the code on mobile ads.
Trending in
Most Read
More in Media
Podcast companies turn to live events to capture growing advertiser spend
July 4, 2025
The surge in the number of live podcast events in 2025 reflects a broader shift: advertisers are betting bigger on podcasts — not just as an audio channel but as a full-fledged creator economy play.
Media Briefing: ‘Cloudflare is locking the door’: Publishers celebrate victory against AI bot crawlers
July 3, 2025
After years of miserably watching their content get ransacked for free by millions of unidentified AI bot crawlers, publishers were finally thrown a viable lifeline.
How Vogue could navigate potential industry headwinds as Anna Wintour — who agency execs say made ad dollars flow — brings on new edit lead
July 3, 2025
Anna Wintour’s successor at Vogue will have to overcome the myriad of challenges facing fashion media and the digital publishing ecosystem.