With the growing number of people accessing web content via their handsets, the mobile display market has grown significantly over the last couple of years – and so too has the number of ad networks aggregating mobile ad inventory.

The number of ad networks offering services to publishers has now become unmanageable. New optimisation platforms have emerged to help publishers address this problem.

Smaato is one of the biggest mobile yield optimisers in Europe. CMO & Co-Founder, Harald Neidhardt, took time to speak to Farneymedia this week about the company’s platform, SOMA, the current state of the mobile ad market and whether the big exchanges would begin to trade mobile ad inventory:

Can you explain how your mobile optimisation platform, SOMA, works?

Smaato aggregates 30+ ad network partners to deliver ads in 215+ countries for our mobile network inventory from 100+ publishers world wide. SOMA is the name for our mobile advertising platform and stands for Smaato Open Mobile Advertising, which means that we have build a platform that is open and transparent to both sides the buyers and the sellers of mobile ad inventory. Smaato serves ads in mobile applications as well as on the mobile web – supporting the MMA guidelines of standard banner and text based advertising formats. Special features and formats as well as interactive elements are provided for iPhone applications with Smaato’s iSOMA SDK.

Does Soma allow publishers to auction off ad space to the highest-bidding ad network?

This is a core function of the SOMA platform, that we provide as a service to the publishers. SOMA automatically routes the ad request to the ad network that provides for the highest price.

How many ad networks are you currently working with?

Today we say 30+. We will shortly announce our 33rd ad network partner world wide. This is the largest amount of ad network partners of any mobile ad exchange, mediation layer or mobile optimizer out there for any platform.

What are the benefits for the mobile publisher and ad network?

Benefits for Publishers:

- connected to 30+ ad networks
- automated data collection across networks
- eCPM optimization based on live revenue forecasts
- manual override of house ads
- dynamic campaign selection (not daisy chain)
- rules engine: traffic & targeting management

Benefits for Ad Networks:

- extended reach (especially from online ad networks towards mobile)
- reach across all mobile platforms (iPhone, Android and all other OS; mobile web & mobile apps)
- target by location, gender, demographics, age (if provided by publisher)
- exteneded reach in regions and inventory beyond

Is the media buy blind? Or can a seller see who they’re trading with?

The media buy is generally automated and aggregated blind based upon up to 24 targeting criteria that is provided by the majority of the publishers. Specific targeted buys by named publisher or channel segment is possible.

How do you ensure “brand safety” for publishers? Can you help safeguard against inappropriate ads appearing on a publisher’s site?

We have agreements and filters in place for inappropriate ads.

How would you differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Smaato has built a long standing reputation in the mobile advertising market as an innovator for the mobile optimization segment delivering ads in 215+ countries for mobile web and mobile apps.

We have more ad networks partners as anybody else in the market - and smaato provides iPhone SDK and one API to automatically access publishers inventory to all ad networks connected

Our publisher partners do not need a separate agreement with an ad network to get started: one Agreement with Smaato provides for all access to the partners ad inventory

Do you think established ad exchanges, like RightMedia and Google Adx, will eventually allow mobile ad inventory to be traded on their platforms?

As mobile will be a dominant media platform, there will be more new players in the market. As of now the online platforms are still dealing with establishing themselves in the online markets, so it might be a while but ultimately, yes.

Mobile advertising has struggled so far to have a major impact on media spend. How does Smaato see the mobile advertising market developing in the next twelve months?

We think Mobile advertising spend will have a significant growth rate in the upcoming year 2010. After the worst of the recession is over, we think we will go back to the growth rate of 2008 and with the ongoing iPhone, Andoid, mobile internet and social media hype the media planners will open up their budgets to the medium where the consumers are already and can be reached in a new and personal way.

Are Smaato looking to roll out any new features in the coming months?

Smaato recently released the iSOMA 3.1 mobile advertising SDK for the iPhone. We are planning to release an even bigger step for the iPhone SDK soon as well will further adapt our SOMA platform for Android and other handset operating systems. Other enhancements will include statistics, reporting and additional ad network and ad delivery sources world wide.

More exciting projects are still under wraps, but be sure Smaato is on an innovating spree added new features in close communication with our partners and customers.