Ad placement in mobile applications and websites

A system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:
• receive, from a device, a request for positioning information for placing a set of targeted content items in a display of a portion of a vertical message stream within an application executing on the device, the message stream including a related content item that includes content related to the set of targeted content items, wherein a first targeted content item of the set of content items includes a first content format and a second targeted content item of the set of content items includes a second content format different from the first content format, the first content format and the second content format selected from a video format, a text format, an image format, an audio format, or a combination format including two or more of text, video, images, and audio;
• in response to receiving the request:
• determine a first positioning information for the first targeted content item and a second positioning information for the second targeted content item in the message stream that includes the related content item;
• and
• send the first positioning information and the second positioning information to the device, such that the device inserts the first targeted content item and the second targeted content item based on the first positioning information and the second positioning information at different vertical positions in a portion of the message stream displayed to a user of the device via the application executing on the device.

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to:

• receive, from a mobile device, a request for positioning information for placing a set of targeted content items in a display of a portion of a vertical message stream within an application executing on the mobile device, the message stream including a related content item that includes content related to the set of targeted content items, wherein a first targeted content item of the set of content items includes a first content format and a second targeted content item of the set of content items includes a second content format different from the first content format, the first content format and the second content format selected from a video format, a text format, an image format, an audio format, or a combination format including two or more of text, video, images, and audio;
• in response to receiving the request:
• determine a first positioning information for the first targeted content item and a second positioning information for the second targeted content item in the message stream that includes the related content item;
• and
• send the first positioning information and the second positioning information to the mobile device, such that the mobile device inserts the first targeted content item and the second targeted content item based on the first positioning information and the second positioning information at different vertical positions in a portion of the message stream displayed via the application to a user of the mobile device,
• wherein the application includes one or more of a social network application, a messaging application, a financial application, a gaming application, a productivity application, a video application, or a photography application.