NEW HOPE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MeetMe, Inc. (NYSE MKT: MEET), the public market leader for social discovery, today announced it has completed the rollout of native advertising to the popular Live Feed feature of its MeetMe mobile applications, a key step toward bringing mobile monetization rates in line with web performance.
MeetMe has combined traditional advertising units with a native advertising experience by displaying a more impactful 300x250 advertising unit within its mobile Live Feed product. The move creates new premium inventory for MeetMe’s advertising partners, which we expect to deliver higher click-through rates and brand engagement levels, and consequently produce higher CPMs and revenue for the company.
Geoff Cook, chief executive officer of MeetMe, stated, “On a daily basis, we see more clicks on mobile advertisements than clicks on web advertisements, with more than 100,000 mobile advertising clicks per day and 1.5 billion mobile advertising impressions per month. In fact, our average mobile user spends about 300 percent more time on MeetMe than our average web user each month and has approximately 40 percent higher click through rates on advertising. As the mobile advertising market continues to mature over the next 6-24 months, we believe we are well positioned to benefit from the improvement in mobile advertising rates.”
Already MeetMe has observed its native feed advertisements commanding CPMs over 150 percent higher than its traditional 320x50 mobile banners. These results are nearly on par with the CPMs achieved on the web, signaling a path toward the convergence of mobile and web monetization rates.
Cook added, “We are pleased that web traffic and revenue are showing signs of stabilization in Q2 and we look forward to expanding our native advertising program to additional highly trafficked areas of our mobile applications in Q3 and beyond.”
About MeetMe, Inc.
MeetMe® is the leading social network for meeting new people in the US and the public market leader for social discovery (NYSE MKT: MEET). MeetMe makes meeting new people fun through social games and apps, monetized by both advertising and virtual currency. With 60% of traffic coming from mobile, MeetMe is fast becoming the social gathering place for the mobile generation. The company operates MeetMe.com and MeetMe apps on iPhone, iPad, and Android in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Chinese (traditional), Russian and Japanese.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein, including statements as to whether new premium inventory for our advertising partners will deliver higher click-through rates, brand engagement levels and higher CPMs and revenues for us; whether we are well positioned to benefit from the improvement in mobile advertising rates, if any, and whether we will expand our native advertising program to additional highly trafficked areas of mobile applications. The words “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “is likely,” “will,” “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include: whether our new premium inventory for our advertising partners will deliver higher click-through rates and brand engagement levels; whether we can effectively increase our CPMs and revenues with higher click-through rates and brand engagement; whether mobile advertising rates improve and to what extent; whether we are well positioned to benefit from an improvement in mobile advertising rates, if any and whether and when we will expand our native advertising program. Further information on our risk factors is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 1, 2013. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
