Serve ads on tablets and smartphones via Bonzai.mobi

Bonzai is a niche ad solutions provider that will offer ads only for the media and entertainment publishers.

To help publishers milk their digital offerings and apps, Converse Today has launched Bonzai.mobi, a one of its kind ad solution for smartphone mobiles and tablets across all platforms such as Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and others. Bonzai has been launched with the aim to act as a facilitator for both publishers and brands which seek a premium audience.

It will be a specialised ad solution network that will offer ads only for the media and entertainment apps, and not for the generic sites and brands.

Bonzai has tied up with more than 30 publishers across national and regional media, including The Times of India, The Economic Times, Anandabazar Patrika, the India Today Group, the Dainik Bhaskar Group, and Mid-Day. The company is in talks with other publishers, as well.

The ad solution is integrated across mobile browsers (mobile WAP), smartphone apps, and tablets (iPad, Playbook, Samsung tablet). Bonzai has media formats such as Expando and full screen across mobiles and tablets, apart from customised solutions for publishers or brands. Bonzai will allow ads to be served on mobile sites and mobile apps.

Talking about the launch, Rahul Pandey, chief executive officer and co-founder, Converse Today, says, "While reach is important, to whom they are reaching is critical for brand advertisers. This is where we come in the picture. This is possibly the only unique platform which is integrated across WAP and apps in an adaptive model."

The ads will be enabled to target users based on either specific devices they use or for a specific site.

The pricing will depend on targeting parameters and destination selection; however, it will charge a premium of over 3X from blind networks in this space.

Bonzai aims to tap premium brands which want to associate with a premium set of audience.

Elaborating on the extent to which Indian publishers are ready for the apps, Pandey says, "There is a growing trend towards iPad apps. While publishers like the TOI, Conde Nast and NDTV are already on this device, others will follow suit soon. Publishers are quite open to experiment with iPad as a device to enhance content consumption and overall experience."

Converse Today has roped in brands from the automobile and BFSI category, among others, including Volkswagen, HSBC, Ford, Burberry, Nokia, and Vodafone. The company claims to have about 100 million unique users across its properties globally, and brings an inventory of approximately 500 million from these publishers.

The clients of Converse Today include The Times of India, Dainik Bhaskar, Aaj Tak, BookMyShow, Conde Nast, Vogue, and Skoda, among others.

Though not all tie-ups are exclusive in nature, many publishers have signed exclusive deals with the company. The target group for the ad network includes the audience which spends quality time to browse news, business news analysis, seek regional news update, users of high-end devices, as well as the regular users of the respective portals.

The pricing model will be based on long-term fixed or CPM-based deals.