eBay In Talks With FMCG Brands For Mobile Advertising

Online auction site eBay is in talks with a number of companies, including “big FMCG” brands, as it looks set to introduce a mobile ad system, The Drum reports. The nature of the mobile ad offering means that it requires a curated approach to filling the ad space as it is limited, hence why a number of large companies are interested in discussing the new offering and gaining a competitive advantage.

In 2012 the online site briefly used banner ads on its app, however they were quickly removed as the president of the company deemed them not worth the time or the effort, the article notes. Phuong Nguyen, director of ad business at eBay in the UK, stated that they agreed with the president at the time; this time around, the company is taking “a more curated” approach in order to make sure they get “the kind of brand partners working with [them] that [they] know customers want to see”, he noted.

Changes in the industry and the company itself mean that its latest foray into mobile ads is due to be more complimentary, engaging and inspiring to the user experience. The challenge for the company has been to find the “right balance between a great user experience from a shopping app perspective, and a great user experience from an advertising perspective”, Nguyen said.

In order to do this, eBay is looking to introduce an entirely native format and disregard the use of banner ads completely. The site will also start to consider programmatic ads. The new ads will appear on apps on iOS and Android, as well as the desktop site, in the UK, Germany and North America.