CBC revamps mobile site to sell multi-platform advertising

With mobile penetration on the upswing, the CBC is poised to overhaul its mobile site to optimize a multi-platform approach to selling targeted advertising and offering better user experience with content tailored to local needs.The news was announced at the end of July after the public broadcaster signed a deal with Quattro Wireless, a U.S-based company specializing in mobile advertising and marketing. Bob Kerr, CBC director of business development, says Quattro, through a process called “juicing,” will provide the technical know-how to reach users on mobile devices.“Research shows that people haven’t been using their mobile phones other than for making calls, despite their phones being capable of doing much more,” says Kerr.“We figured the time was right to upgrade the site and make it uniform.”Currently, mobile users access content on CBC on www.cbc.ca/mobile , a site Kerr says was designed four or five years ago. The basic and rudimentary design is not compatible with a wide range of mobile devices currently in use among the public. Under the deal, Quattro will take design cues from the main CBC site and render the current mobile site compatible. The redesigned site is expected to have better graphics and the ability to sell advertising.“Almost all advertisers and agencies now, when they talk to the CBC, they talk about a multi-platform approach to advertising. So our approach is to sell our properties as integrated bundles,” says Kerr.Although CBC competitors, including CTV, also offer mobile access, Kerr contends that their redesigned site will position the public broadcaster among the leaders in this field.“I have looked at our competitors and I think it will position us ahead of them,” he says. Currently, the CBC’s main site gets four million visitors a week and Kerr says he hopes this figure will be replicated for mobile users when the new site—m.cbc.ca—is up and running. As to when that will happen, Kerr says it will be announced in “a few weeks” after some minor tweaking on the site is completed.Lars Albright, Quattro’s VP of business development, said in a statement that consumers today are increasingly turning to the mobile web to find news and information. Quattro Wireless, which bills itself as North America’s best performing mobile ad network company, sells mobile advertising for sites such as CBS News, Cox Newspapers, The Street.com and Boston.com, and also offers services such as media planning and targeting, SMS advertising, ad operations and servicing.

CBC revamps mobile site to sell multi-platform advertising

Broadcast | August 12, 2008

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