Do your clients ask about apps?

There's an interesting overview by John Parsons at Folio on "The State of App Advertising." It seems clear that tablets—most notably, of course, the iPad—have raised the stakes for advertisers and publishers alike, offering an unprecedented level of interactivity and engagement.

It's a brave new world in which the traditional metrics don't quite fit. We know the AAAA has asked for more metrics from publishers. Publishers are also looking for a clearer picture, as reported in the Folio article:

Most of the publishers we spoke to cited metrics—from Adobe Omniture and other providers—indicating that users spent minutes, not seconds, on ads that facilitated hands-on interaction by the reader. All expressed the desire for more detailed data, including time spent with specific features in the app, as well as e-commerce sell-through and brand following trends in social media.

Lack of standardized metrics hasn't stopped the market from expanding quickly. The SRDS Tablet Media Library now includes over 800 tablet apps that accept advertising in multiple app stores.