Small Publishers & Ad-networks

By exchange4media News Service

This Tyroo commissioned Research Report looks into the ever so growing Small Publisher market in India. Blogs and User generated content is the order of the day, and more and more people are taking to the street. It was this in mind, and their efforts to monetize the enormous cumulated inventory on these so called tier-II sites, that the research was conceptualized. It aims to understand the scale of the market, their needs, demands, from ad-networks which seem to be their best option to monetize inventory. The following are the key findings of the research- The inventory follows a skewed Pareto’s principle, with the top few (Approximately 5%) websites contributing more than 90% inventory, and the mass websites, in the form of blogs, Review sites etc accumulate only around 10% inventories. Among Ad-Networks, Interactive Agencies & Sales forces, Tier-II publishers prefer ad-networks to monetize their inventory. This is both out of reason, Better Targeting, Ad-relevancy etc and out of no other choice available, because of the lack of brand value. Currently small publishers face the following key issues with ad-networks Variety of advertisers is not much Delayed Payments because of manual processes Fixed payment lower limit – which means that small publishers find it really hard to earn their first cheque. Click Fraud detection is at the ad-network end, and not at the publisher’s end

Tyroo Media launches premium technology inventory for its advertisers

By exchange4media News Service, April 11, 2008

Tyroo Media, an Indian Internet advertising network, has launched premium technology inventory for its advertisers. In a first-of-its-kind for any advertising network in India, Tyroo has managed to develop separate technology inventories targeting separate genres of end users and decision makers. While the Tier-I inventory targets IT managers and decision makers, Tier-II targets IT developers, engineers and programmers, and Tier III inventory targets final consumers. This breakthrough packaging of inventory would provide advertisers and media planners the most relevant and sought after targeting to final consumers of technology products and services. The publishers include websites like Technorati.com, Asp.net, Developer.com and Linuxplanet.com among a total of more than 125 websites, including coding websites, websites with consumer durable content, review sites and highly rated blogs. This technology package has been accepted well with Microsoft, Samsung, Dell and HP advertising regularly through this inventory. It has been used for both consumer and business products and is attracting advertisers of all genres, from ERP service providers to laptop manufacturers, from printers to SME solution providers, and more. The inventory is available at both CPC and CPM rates and packaged with features like the ability to select websites and site-wise reporting, a first again for blind networks. Aditya Khanna, Business Head, Tyroo Media Pvt Ltd, said, “The current Indian technology inventory is over-priced because there is shortage of supply in India. By aggregating foreign sites for their Indian targeted inventory, Tyroo has created a pool that didn’t exist earlier and is giving stiff competition to Indian technology inventory on both performance and cost.”

Tyroo claims to display 2.5 billion impressions a month

By Aloo Techie, 12 March, 2008

Ad network Tyroo Media, which is incubated by Smile Interactive Technologies Group and funded by Yahoo, claims to have touched the 2.5 billion impressions per month milestone recently. According to Tyroo, its 2500 strong publisher network includes Perfspot, Facebook, About.com, SantaBanta, Smashits, Yatra, and OneIndia. The company counts Microsoft, General Motors, Pepsi, ICICI and Yahoo amongst its advertisers. Through ad-exchange programs with international ad-networks, access to the Yahoo publisher network and exclusive contracts with leading websites, Tyroo has managed to accumulate phenomenal international inventory, the company has said. “Tyroo’s NRI, technology and entertainment inventories are among the best in the industry and have been providing efficient and cost effective platforms for advertisers ranging from all genres of industry. Inventory on various premium sites adds to that and makes the range diverse and cost effective,” Aditya Khanna, business head, Tyroo Media, has said. www.Tyroo.com 136A, Vishal House, Zamrudpur, Kailash Colony Delhi-110048

Tyroo, iXiGO, DimDim among 10 ‘Most Interesting Start-ups’

By Aloo Techie, January 3, 2008

Business daily Mint, a part of the HT Media group, has come out with a list of the 10 “most interesting start-ups” to watch for in 2008. The list includes, Tyroo Media (online ad network), iXiGO.com (travel meta search) and DimDim (online Web conferencing).Sloka Telecom, Ziva Software, Novatium Solutions, MobME Wireless Solutions, Anantara Solutions, Mango Technologies and Zoho are the other companies selected in the list of the 10 ‘most interesting start-ups’. According to Mint, the selected companies stood out from the rest in terms of the products or services offered, founder experience and credentials, differentiated business models and potential market opportunity. “We put them forward not just as interesting companies to watch for but also as representatives of the infectious and powerful wave of entrepreneurship that is now sweeping the country,” Mint writes.

They stand out for the products or services offered, founder credentials and new business models

By Live Mint, Dec 31 2007

Namitha Jagadeesh Description:Anantara Solutions Pvt. Ltd offers “second generation outsourcing” solutions, which combines IT services with business consulting. Founder G.B. Prabhat was earlier instrumental in building a business platform at Satyam Computer Services Ltd that had earned the company $200 million in revenue at the time he quit. The Chennai-based start-up was short listed for Nasscom’s 100 IT Innovators 2007. 8. Tyroo Media Pvt. Ltd Founder(s): Harish Bahl, Manish Vij, C.P. Singh, Aditya Khanna Space: Online advertising Funding: Undisclosed investment by Yahoo Inc. Description:Tyroo Media Pvt. Ltd is an online advertising network that uses proprietary targeting technology to ensure advertisers reach out to the right websites from its inventory of publishers. Internet company Yahoo picked up at least 35% stake in Tyroo for an undisclosed amount in July 2007. Incubated by Delhi-based digital media company Smile Interactive Technologies Group, Tyroo was shortlisted for the second edition of Proto. 9. Mango Technologies Pvt. Ltd Founder(s): Sunil Maheshwari, Lekh Joshi Space: Mobile applications platforms Funding: Self funded Description:Mango Technologies Pvt. Ltd develops mobile platforms to enhance user experience on low-end handsets. Incubated at NSRCEL on the IIM, Bangalore campus. Works with handset and chipset manufacturers to build platforms that allow rich media applications on a light framework. It was shortlisted for Nasscom’s 100 IT Innovators 2007 and showcased its product at mobile demo event MoDeMo in December. 10. Zoho (AdventNet Inc.) Founder(s): Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas Space: Online Web applications Funding: Self-funded Description: Zoho showcased its product at DEMO this year. It offers a number of online office tools such as word processor, project management software and CRM solutions. It competes with Microsoft and Google Inc. Software product development is done out of Chennai.

Companies that participated in Internet segment:

By Pluggd In, 22 Jul 2007

Inasra: Product: Inasra - a hotel booking service, Inasra goes a level deep and covers more than the hotels. Their coverage includes (apart from the regular hotels) service apartments, cheap hotels - right from price range of 300 - 45K! Read our review here Looking for funding (VC who can mentor them as well) and partnerships. Pennywise Solutions Product: tolmolbol, a local search service present across 100 Indian cities. The presentation was well scripted and tolmolbol guys did a good job of showcasing their features (business search, SMS contact details, reviews/social network, events, classifieds, QnA) Read our coverage with Anand, CEO (interview, podcast) and analysis of local search space. @ Proto: tolmolbol is looking for product feedback, and also used the platform to increase awareness of the product. Tyroo Product: Tyroo A self-served ad network, Tyroo is a contextual advertising network. Very interesting presentation - rich visuals, Tyroo did “advertise” itself well. Looking for product feedbacks/users/market expansion and recruitment as well. Skillworth Technologies: Product: Cricko, CricTV, Aiming to tap the cricket frenzy, Cricko is an interactive media cricket network that allows one to play games and earn points (which can be redeemed). Looking for VC funding and partners. RouteGuru: Well, they are solving a big pain (read the product review here) - enables one to look for driving direction using landmarks. They showcased couple of new features in Proto: RouteMap / Widgets and RouteHints Related: Podcast with Avinash, founder of RouteGuru, Elephant vs. Ant Looking for funding and partnerships. MineKey Product: MineKey is a web2.0 startup in contextual content recommendation space. They have already received round A funding. At proto: to showcase their product. Genie Interactive Product: Voiee is a simple voicemail and voice messaging systems. Deepak did a good “live” demo (was way too scared of Murphy’s law! - BTW his login failed the first time!!) and sared few of the features that Voiee is working on. Looking for strategic partnerships, and investors.

Yahoo buys 35% stake in Tyroo Media

Tyroo-Press Release-By The Hindu Business Line, Jul 19, 2007

Our Bureau New Delhi, July 18 Yahoo Inc on Wednesday said it will buy over 35 per cent in Gurgaon-based Tyroo Media Pvt Ltd. Tyroo, a part of Smile Interactive Technologies Group (Smile Group), is an ad-network, which offers services for advertisers and publishers. The investment is expected to enable Tyroo to access Yahoo’s knowledge of Internet advertising and help Tyroo in expansion. Yahoo, however, did not divulge the quantum of the investment. “Through this investment, Yahoo would act as a catalyst for the entire ad-network industry in India, which is still in a nascent stage. It would also signify our increasing focus in Indian online advertising networks,” Mr George Zacharias, Managing director of Yahoo India, told reporters here. The cash infusion by Yahoo would be used to invest in technology and sales network to reach out to small and medium sized advertisers and publishers in India. Tyroo plans to offer newer ad-formats, enhanced customer support and flexibility to advertisers and publishers in managing campaigns. Tyroo is planning to to set up sales offices across the country and recruit more people by the year end. Yahoo will get a seat on the board of the company.