Deutsche Telekom has partnered with Berlin-based Xyo to tap into its smart app search technology, also marking the first time that Xyo has publicly unveiled a tie-up with an operator for app search advertising.
Xyo said its technology will now form the platform for the German operator's Top Apps recommendation service, which is already available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the U.S., with other countries including Poland to follow in the coming months.
"There are different ways that app discovery can be smarter: at Xyo we are able to map views, click paths, search queries or installs to get an 'app persona' for each user to recommend better apps to them--even without any social or demographic data. This type of search technology will be integrated into Top Apps," said Matthaus Krzykowski, co-founder and head of international partnerships at Xyo.
The app search adverting platform will in turn allow publishers to book app search advertising on global Deutsche Telekom properties through Xyo. The company said its technology enables advertising to be displayed in the right context "where users care about an app."
According to research from Flurry, U.S. consumers spend 86 per cent of their time on mobile devices using apps rather than just browsing, meaning that smarter ways of discovering apps and a more active role in apps distribution are of increasing importance to operators.
Krzykowski also noted that the app distribution landscape is changing, as Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo seek new ways of making revenue from mobile usage.
"Apps are escaping the closed catalogues and top lists of the app stores. They are becoming part of the personalised streams of content surrounding us every day," Krzykowski added.
Xyo said it will announce more global app search partnerships in the coming months.
Earlier in April, Juniper Research said total advertising spend on mobile search and discovery will reach $16.8 billion (€12.1 billion) by 2018, up from an estimated $6.4 billion in 2013.
For Deutsche Telekom, meanwhile, the agreement with Xyo marks the latest in a raft of partnership deals with third-party providers as the German operator seeks to gain new expertise and new services to offer its subscriber base.
In January, the company extended its partnership with Evernote in a deal that saw it further embrace the opportunities brought through partnerships with OTT service providers.
For more:
- see this release from Xyo
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