Apple has undoubtedly created a new frontier for mobile marketing that will see advertisers leap at the opportunity to reach customers in a brand new way.

Apple’s unveiling of their newest gadget created a ripple of excitement and few signs of skepticism as techies awed at its design while others saw it more as an oversized iPod. The new device – approximately 9 times the size of an iPod – offers users a media-consuming touch screen device that is set to compete with a variety of different products already available on the market.

For the critics that believe this is simply a large-scale iPod, there are a variety of functions and applications that are fundamentally changing the way we consume new and old media.

Of all media, book publishers had the most vested interests in the interface and capabilities of the iPad. Set to be a direct competitor with Amazon’s Kindle, the e-book experience that Apple is creating is far beyond the simplicity of reading an e-book. The “sexiness” of the page turning and high-resolution screen partnered with the Apple brand add tangible and intangible value respectively to what Amazon could never match.

Along with gaming and visual media such as movies and television, the iPad’s screen allows users to dive into a growing variety of products available through iTunes.

But the noticeable technical and visual aspects of the iPad are not what strike us the most. With the iPad, Apple has created a new platform that presents an assortment of content in a more personal way. This new frontier has created a dynamic market of mobile marketing possibilities that advertisers are drooling over.

It is no coincidence that Apple recently acquired Quattro Wireless – a specialist in mobile advertising. The potential gains for mobile marketing is massive and with devices like the iPad carving out new opportunities, Apple has set themselves up for huge future returns. And since the iPad does not support Adobe Flash, marketers are being forced to develop new kinds of ads, rather than adapting Web ads.

As such, an entirely different approach to mobile ads could come sooner than expected. The mobile platform offers advertisers the same tracking and reporting that comes with traditional Internet ads, and it reaches their audience wherever they are, given they have access to an internet connection – something that is becoming the norm in most major metropolitan cities.

Windsor Holden, a principal analyst at Juniper Research, predicts worldwide mobile ad spending will quadruple to $6 billion or more, by 2014.

The opportunity is significant, and the only question that remains is: How will advertisers integrate their offers into the platform that match the needs of their target audiences?

At the end of this past October, eLearners brought a final close to one of their most popular education campaigns yet. The Career Stimulus Package was one of a few exclusive offers within their affiliate program in Share Results and was a huge hit with affiliates actively promoting since its introduction this past summer. Over the last several months we’ve made mention of CSP via our blog, mailers and newsletters to Share Results affiliates.

Just in case you missed all the news, the initiative was all about giving women and men in the US the chance to  boost their careers and overall lifestyle. Participants gained access to online college opportunities to further their education, which was wonderful for those who may have only achieved a high school diploma. The campaign also aimed to assist prospective online students the chance to benefit from financial aid opportunities with a number of reputable online colleges. Furthermore, companies like ELance, Orbitek, spud!, and Entrepreneur Media Inc. were part of a list of companies offering paid internships.

While CSP is no longer available, remember that eLearners is still offering other great edu opportunities through their portals like Criminal Justice and Entertainment Industry Degrees. They are also running their very popular Project Working Mom… And Dads, Too! A monthly campaign perfect for moms and dads who are working and need some financial help to go back to school through an online college.

In the meantime, please check out some video footage from the CSP campaign. It’s a great example of how Americans were impacted by this project.

To learn more about eLearners, feel free to check out their merchant page by clicking here.

This is a clip of Loren Feldman and Chris Brogan talking shop at Affiliate Summit East. They make some interesting comments about how affiliate marketers differ from tech bloggers and social media types. Check it out…

Affiliates are often used primarily for customer acquistion, but they also have a lot of potential to help merchants retain customers. In the latest episode of Coffee with Nicky, our CEO, Nicky Senyard, discusses how merchants can work with their affiliates for retention purposes, and convert one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Affiliate software needs to do a lot more than just calculate commissions. Those calculations also need to be transparent, and affiliates need reports they can use to analyze campaign performance and optimize their efforts.

Well, in the latest episode of her video podcast, Coffee with Nicky, our CEO, Nicky Senyard, discusses just this. Specifically, she goes over what affiliates should look for in the software that powers the programs they promote — from overall transparency to the specific reports they need to optimize their online marketing efforts.

Meet Austin Hill (@austinhill), one of the founders of Akoha (@akoha), a web-based game with reality-based play (very cool). The company is trying to make the world a better place by changing the way people think about acts of kindness, and that goal recently got them invited to present at Ted 2009.

We caught up with Austin at the last Podcamp Montreal, and sat down with him to discuss the potential revenue streams that the company is considering. After all, Akoha and it’s staff still have to eat.

The way that Twitter has grown in popularity has left a lot of affiliates wondering how to best use it toward their affiliate marketing goals. After all, whereas brands might be focused on simply building awareness or managing their PR, affiliates need to focus on actual conversions. Well, in the latest installment of Coffee with Nicky, our CEO Nicky Senyard discusses exactly what the potential of Twitter is for affiliate marketers, and how they should consider using it toward their affiliate marketing goals.

With Twitter having exploded that way it has over the last few months, it’s not just the web-savvy brands who “get it” that have jumped on the bandwagon. Now, brands from all walks and industries are having to consider the medium as a way to reach out to an interact with its target market.

Well, our CEO, Nicky Senyard, touches on what Twitter means for brands in the latest episode of her video blog Coffee with Nicky. But why take our word for it when you can hear it from Nicky directly?

A little while ago, our CEO, Nicky Senyard, launched a new video blog format called Coffee with Nicky. Well, Nicky has just released a new episode, and it’s all about Twitter, social media, and managing the the public/private/professional divide of your various online presences. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did…

Project Working Mom… And Dads, Too! was given some fantastic TV coverage yesterday on the highly popular Tyra Banks Show. For some time now, the eLearners powered scholarship contest has been buzzing about online. Yesterday, a few select recipients not only received news that they won scholarships, but they also got a chance to meet the supermodel herself! To see video footage of the show, please refer to PWM on Facebook.

If you’re an affiliate that promotes education to your visitors, there is actually still 1 week left to promote this scholarship contest, which offers working mothers and fathers a chance to get an accredited online degree without the debt. This contest will close after April 30, 2009. And, while it may seem like this is a temporary campaign to promote, remember that eLearners is in the business of helping you help prospective students all-year round.

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