Buddy Media Exceeds its Own Expectations in 2008

Buddy Media has revealed its numbers for 2008, and things are looking good for the “appvertising” company.  When Facebook launched its platform in 2007, many developers and ad networks were surprised but encouraged by the lack of restrictions Facebook imposed for third party applications that carried ads. Despite this seemingly open market for advertising campaigns, only a few have succeeded on a large scale, which includes Buddy Media.

The “app-vertisement” company reports exceeding its revenue goals for 2008, with campaigns for 50 brands and a 138% revenue increase from Q3 to Q4 2008.  By working as an application developer alongside major ad networks, and launching an ad network of its own, Buddy Media has grown its two core competencies in tandem.  Buddy Media also experienced growth through a number of acquisitions last year, having taken on AceBucks, a virtual currency application on Facebook, and Crushes. 

By also spreading its applications across multiple networks including MySpace, Buddy Media is also expanding the number of places a given advertising campaign can be viewed.  While many are becoming speculative towards the social media advertising market, Buddy Media has shown that there’s still an interest in advertising within the social realm.  And given some attitudes towards Facebook’s own advertising platform, which can be rather hit or miss at times, many advertisers are looking to third party applications as more targeted ways of reaching a specific demographic.  Buddy Media has also taken steps to encourage such targeting through options like the BuddyBrain service, which offers metrics for its advertisers, among other things. 

Given the success Buddy Media has experienced in the past year, it’s not surprising to see that the company is looking for exponential growth for 2009.  With over $7 million in funding from Softbank Capital and PayPal founder and Facebook investor Peter Thiel, Buddy Media has a great deal of support for its particular product and is part of a dynamic experiment regarding third party applications and integrated social advertising in the online media space.