AT&T plans to bring local ads to apps

The mobile local ad market got more crowded and competitive today with AT&T Interactive announcing that in-app ads will be coming to its own network soon. Billed as yet another extension of the AT&T Inc. (T) subsidiary’s local Yellow Pages business, the company is hoping to capture more revenue from the fast-growing space of local mobile ads. AT&T will be going head-to-head with some big names, as it begins to serve mobile ads in apps based on user location.
The company piloted in-app advertising on its mobile local ad network earlier this year and generated more than 750 million local ad impressions in three months, AT&T said.
“AT&T Interactive’s mobile local ad network builds on the long-standing success of our YP Local Ad Network in serving local search ads across three screens via online, mobile and IPTV,” said David Krantz, CEO and president at AT&T Interactive. “We’re taking advantage of the power of local advertising and the proliferation of location-aware mobile handsets. With our significant inventory of local ads and early success, we are poised to revolutionize the mobile, in-app advertising market.”