Medialets Goes Android: iTastic!

As you know I have a lot of heart for what the people at Medialets, the iPhone ad network specializing in deeper and more engaging marketing experiences in apps are doing. Well, as you can tell from the headline, it is no longer appropriate to call them an iPhone Ad Network, because they are quickly broadening their offerings. Their announcement last week of a beta test of new Android analytics and ad offerings is big news for both the company and the Android initiative.

I was fortunate enough to meet two of the founders two weeks ago at their offices in NYC. CEO Eric Litman and VP Marketing Rana Sobhany were kind enough to tell me about the short and remarkable history of this outfit, which went from that metaphorical back of a cocktail napkin concept to a broad array of analytics and offerings in about a month. Their passion is infectious, and it was very clear to me that their vision was a lot larger than being one of the six or so ad networks for iPhone apps.



Medialets Chairman and CEO Eric Litman


Medialets VP Marketing Rana Sobhany

The announcement of Android analytics and ad offerings must be welcome news to every carrier but ATT. The iPhone is really a transformative device that positioned ATT at the center of what may well become a revolution in how, when, and why we use phones. It does so, ironically, by essentially allowing developers to sidestep that absurdly draconian development and approval process that has historically limited innovations in cellular. Here's an excerpt from Eric Litman's blog post on this topic:

The world of mobile changed when Apple introduced the App Store. Historically, developers have had to contend with lengthy, often expensive negotiations and certification procedures with carriers to bring their applications to market, and more often than not, the challenges of working in that environment have limited the number and quality of developers willing to undertake the effort. With the App Store, the process has been reduced to a simple submission and review cycle.

Combining that with centralized discovery, distribution and payments for applications has led to a new model for mobile app developers that significantly opens up the possibility of building sustainable - even venture scale - businesses around mobile applications. But the App Store is just the beginning. Google was quick to recognize the power of this distribution model and earlier this year announced their own App Marketplace, which like Apple’s App Store, bypasses carriers and lets developers market directly to consumers through the Marketplace.

Android offers similar opportunities for other carriers. It'll get the carriers out of their own way in the race to drive innovation and differentiation in the category. More from Litman's blog post:

Mobile operators not selling the iPhone today need strong, competitive offerings to convince consumers to buy something other than the iPhone. Much like we’ve seen historically on game consoles, many future mobile phone purchases will likely be influenced by the applications available for the platform. Android and the App Marketplace give carriers a potentially viable alternative to the explosive application market for the iPhone, and with the might of Google behind the platform, we may see development activity that equals or even surpasses that of iPhone developers.

It is naturally welcome news for developers as well, because they will be able to make things for Android, and indeed port their current iPhone offerings to Android. More installs means more use occasions means more money through ad support! Means more development, natch.

I am inspired to see how rapidly this company is making moves and getting things done. We need drivers like Eric and Rany in mobile so that perhaps...just perhaps...we will finally have that year of mobile marketing that the industry has been promising since about the time that the Constitution was signed in 1789.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.