The big mobile news today is that Mobclix has entered an exclusive deal with Nielsen to help with their analytics.  What does that mean?  The story has been long on extensive product details, which were most succinctly described by Colin Gibbs over at GigaOM:

Mobclix has struck a deal to integrate Nielsen’s ad targeting data into its mobile ad exchange, the two announced today, the latest effort to deliver highly targeted mobile ads. The pact allows Mobclix to resell Nielsen’s PRIZM and ConneXions products, which slot consumers into more than 150 segments based on lifestyle and usage patterns. Marketers will be able to target pitches based on a user’s age and gender as well as location, spending power and tech savviness.

I think it’s more telling what isn’t said by both the press releases as well as the write-ups as to what this actually means for the mobile monetization business.

Both John Furrier and I have pretty full experience in the podcasting world, and we both watched the Association for Downloadable Media form, and the effects of Nielsen joining both the organization and the world of podcasting itself.

It’s important to note that what happened there, and the subsequent certification of analytics of outfits like Wizzard Media is not what’s happening here with Mobclix.

First of all, it’s important to note that the Mobclix-Nielsen relationship is an exclusive one, meaning they won’t have this sort of relationship with any other mobile provider, regardless of size. Given that the big companies like Apple and Google are already jumping into the game with programs of their own as well as acquisitions of their own, it’s unlikely that a cross-platform certification is going to happen as it did in the world of podcasting.

This, I think, will hinder the more mainstream acceptance by Madison Avenue type shops the idea of commoditized mobile advertising.

Even Nielsen Doesn’t Have a Handle on This

There’s a reason why Nielsen’s PR flacks are trumpeting this announcement as loudly as Mobclix: this is a credibility-building exercise.

About six months ago, John Furrier and I sat on the phone with experts at Nielsen while we were vetting Millennial Media as a potential sponsor for the site, just to get a handle on the business.  While the call with Nielsen was valuable, it was quite clear that they didn’t have much of an idea as to what was going on with the world of mobile advertising the way they did on the Web or with podcasting.

The word used repeatedly was “nascent.” There are just too many ways to advertise and too many ways to measure it for a standard to have emerged yet, and this move by Nielsen with Mobclix will help them get a better handle on it so that they can make their next move – certification of CPMs, or whatever other factors (like engagement) they decide to run with.

[Editor’s Note: Millennial Media, a player in this sector, is a sponsor and early partner company to SiliconANGLE. –mrh]