Good morning! We hope everyone had a nice weekend. As usual, we kick off the week with a roundup of performance marketing and digital marketing industry news, reports and insights to help you get your Monday started. In-app marketing and advertising is a hot topic with varying opinions on how to approach it. Here are some interesting thoughts from around the web.

“Ebony and Ivory” – The Blended In–App Purchase and Advertising Model

It is a question that has been plaguing the industry for years – What is the best business model for monetization: In-App purchasing or In-App advertising? Could the two coexist to maximize revenues? Elad Natanson, a Forbes contributor that covers the evolution of the mobile marketplace and the app economy discusses the topic.

Engagement: The New Reach

In a world where mobile usage is rapidly overtaking PC usage, engagement metrics have become more important than the number of users or reach for many publishers. The reason is simple: most of their interest in consumer data is related to retention, frequency and intensity of usage. Hannu Verkasalo, CEO of Verto Analytics discusses why engagement matters in this AdExchanger Data-Driven Thinker post.

Why Brands Should Think Twice Before Choosing In-App Marketing For Mobile

In-app mobile ads are important and the brands’ spend on this medium is certainly going up. The reason this type of advertising works is because it’s supported by location data. This enables advertisers to understand the context of their ad placements, which leads to increased engagement. In a PerformanceIn post, Adam Gilsenan, Chief Media Consultant at YOC discusses things to consider before rushing off to spend more of your marketing budget on in-app advertising.

And for something completely different from the world of financial services…

The Transformation of the Digital Banking CIO

As legacy financial institutions strive to provide more digital functionality, the role of the CIO has become more important than ever. Today’s CIO in the banking industry is expected to acquire new skills and assume new responsibilities while fostering internal collaboration and creating a start-up culture.  Jim Marous, Co-Publisher of The Financial Brand discusses how in a response to changing markets and new competitors, retail banks and credit unions are rethinking and expanding the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO).