Apple iAd plans to eat up half the mobile ad market

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple will launch its iAd mobile advertising program July 1 on iPhone and iPod touch devices running the new iOS 4. Based on the estimated size of the market, the company says it will take nearly a 50% share of mobile ads in the second half of 2010.



Rather than focusing on earning ad revenues, Apple plans to use iAd as a program to incentivize App Store development.



?iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch users," the company's chief executive Steve Jobs said, "a highly desirable demographic for advertisers." He also said iAds would "provide developers a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low cost applications.?



Jobs listed a variety of leading brands who have already signed commitments of more than $60 million of ads over the next six months, including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and Walt Disney Studios.



Based on a JP Morgan report forecasting the size of the mobile ads market, that gives Apple nearly half of the emerging market for mobile apps right out of the gate, even though iAds will only appear on Apple's iOS devices running the latest version 4, which will become available June 21.



Making it easy for developers to add iAd



The new iOS 4 release incorporates integrated support for the new iAd program, making it easy for developers to add support for the iAd banners and their self-contained HTML5 websites.



The core feature of iAd is that when users click a banner, it launches an HTML5 ad environment within the developer's app. When the ad is closed, it drops users back to the app they were using rather that leaving them at an external website. Apple hopes this design will result in more effective advertising that developers are more interested in including in their apps.



The iAd banners and web-based advertisements are created using Apple's new iAd JS, a JavaScript library that is part of iOS 4, designed to enable ad designers to create rich media assets in a bundle that acts as a self contained website. The new iOS can present iAd bundles saved as part of a developer's app or dynamically load them from Apple's servers, presenting users with a rich branding environment that advertisers hope will attract user interaction as a carrot, rather than beating viewers with the stick of flashy, intrusive ads.



Apple provides a package of iAD JS core files, sample media and assets, as well as an iAdTester app for loading iAd bundles to preview how they work. The iAd bundles sync over to the test app using iTunes app File Sharing, much like the documents files of iWork apps. The iAd bundles themselves are built using modern web standards, and can present any media or interaction designers can imagine.



On stage at WWDC, Jobs demonstrated an iAd campaign under development by Nissan to promote its new Leaf electric car. The iAd launches a short video the leads into a simple navigation selector, which presents the ability to register for more information, a sweepstakes entry to win a new car, and includes a variety of interactive visuals that demonstrate the selling points of the new vehicle.



iAd gives Apple a new market



Apple's development of iAd, based on the company's acquisition of the Quattro Wireless ad network, is described by Apple as being simply a way to enable its developers to monetize their apps, making it more feasible to offer free or low cost software for the iOS platform. At the same time, the new program seems to be a defensive strategy to prevent the mobile ad market from falling to Google, which is now an iPhone competitor with its rival Android platform.



By offering its own ad network, Apple can make sure that Google doesn't promote its own Android platform at the expense of the iOS. Google's AdMob subsidiary has already begun promoting the idea that a larger percentage of its ad requests come from Android devices, suggesting that the Android platform is larger than Apple's iOS installed base, without that actually being the case even in the US.



iAd is also a defensive posture in an industry that has grown heavily dependent upon Adobe's Flash Professional for developing interactive and animated ads. By creating its own advertising program welded directly to the iOS and requiring that all ad content be built using HTML5, Apple is leveraging the value of its mobile platform and developer interest to support HTML5.



Apple's aggressive marketing of advertising commitments from leading brands means that $60 million will be funneled back into the App Store and the developers who create software for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, rather than spreading mobile advertising across the apps of other mobile platforms.



This strategy is parallel to iTunes and the iTunes Store itself, which Apple created and maintains not as a major profit center, but as a mechanism for facilitating compatible media and software for its mobile platforms while also directing the revenues they generate to add value to the iPod and iOS platforms.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    As long as this would make developers charge less for their apps then I'm happy. It is not like I'm going to click on every ads anyway. People who always accidentally clicked on those annoying ads need to get slimmed!
  • Reply 2 of 28
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Hopefully iAd doesn't eat up half our data plan.
  • Reply 3 of 28
    str1f3str1f3 Posts: 573member
    While iAds is incredibly interesting and possibly the future of mobile ads, the rancor between Google, Ad Mob and Apple is interesting. The Ad Mob CEO has been on record today as saying that there were some bad feelings between them and Apple over the Google acquisition. He also seemingly slammed Apple by saying it was nothing special.



    This is the beginning of Google being kicked off of iOS especially when you consider that all iPhone 4s at WWDC had Bing as the search engine (though it's not the default). It's rather incredible that, even before iAds launched, they have already taken up 50% of all mobile ad revenue.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    schmrtzzzschmrtzzz Posts: 61member
    Incredible this is presented as a hot new feature. I hate ads on my tv, on my radio, on the internet. I'll hate it even more when they invade the iPhone I paid so much for, in apps I also paid for, on a screen that's already very small and that has provider (T-Mobile, Holland) that already has tremedous dificulties to provide any connection at all.
  • Reply 5 of 28
    str1f3str1f3 Posts: 573member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by schmrtzzz View Post


    Incredible this is presented as a hot new feature. I hate ads on my tv, on my radio, on the internet. I'll hate it even more when they invade the iPhone I paid so much for, in apps I also paid for, on a screen that's already very small and that has provider (T-Mobile, Holland) that already has tremedous dificulties to provide any connection at all.



    I'll be honest in saying that I don't know what the problem is with ads on paid apps. As of right now the only one I've noticed as to what you're refferring to is the CNN app. For years I bought newspapers that have ads. These companies do need revenue to provide quality content which is something, for the most part, do not exist in blogs. I think many have been spoiled by the current state of the web.



    I look at it this way: give me an ad that I would want to click on. I'm at the point now where I subconciously ignore all ads and those dumb Flash pop-up ads that ruin my browsing experience.
  • Reply 6 of 28
    ivan.rnn01ivan.rnn01 Posts: 1,822member
    Right. $60M in 5 months and "We're giving you multitasking. It's amazing."
  • Reply 7 of 28
    treymourtreymour Posts: 2member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Foo2 View Post


    Hopefully iAd doesn't eat up half our data plan.



    Why do you think AT&T so DRASTICALLY cut the data allotments? This new Apple feature will absolutely positively guarantee BILLIONS of added revenue per quarter to AT&T!



    Personally, AT&T's antics of doubling the ETF & slashing data plans plus Apple's i-Ads motivated me to jettison my 3Gs and move to Sprint providing me more for less than I was paying AT&T per month. I'll consider coming back when iPhone is AT&T free and Apple provides me with a FREE data plan to justify watching their paid advertisements!
  • Reply 8 of 28
    8corewhore8corewhore Posts: 833member
    I wonder how much bandwidth these ads use up on at&t's tick-tock, tick-tock, network.\
  • Reply 9 of 28
    shubiduashubidua Posts: 157member
    You only see the ads when you want to. Where is the big deal about the data usage? You chose to consume the content.



    BTW, am I the only one noticing that iOS 4 is free to push iAds on as many devices as possible?
  • Reply 10 of 28
    hutchohutcho Posts: 132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by schmrtzzz View Post


    Incredible this is presented as a hot new feature. I hate ads on my tv, on my radio, on the internet. I'll hate it even more when they invade the iPhone I paid so much for, in apps I also paid for, on a screen that's already very small and that has provider (T-Mobile, Holland) that already has tremedous dificulties to provide any connection at all.



    Exactly - this is not a hot new feature, it's awful. Awful for everyone concerned. If anyone has used Android a lot, you'll know that ads are like a pest. It's not so bad on the iPhone, because developers can actually sell their apps, but on Android no one buys apps, they only download free ones. So the only option is for developers to include ads.



    Everyone hates ads and like you say, the last thing you want is one taking up precious space on an already tiny screen.



    I sincerely hope that Apples current business model where people sell quality apps for very little money continues and does not get overrun by developers trying to squeeze out a profit from crappy apps full of ads.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    s.metcalfs.metcalf Posts: 972member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by schmrtzzz View Post


    Incredible this is presented as a hot new feature. I hate ads on my tv, on my radio, on the internet. I'll hate it even more when they invade the iPhone I paid so much for, in apps I also paid for, on a screen that's already very small and that has provider (T-Mobile, Holland) that already has tremedous dificulties to provide any connection at all.



    It's not presented as a new feature for end users, it's presented as a new feature for app developers! Remember, this is World-Wide DEVELOPERS' Conference. Like it or loath it many app developers will chose to use an advertising model to get people in to their apps that would otherwise baulk at paying for them. Many developers too offer free advertising supported apps and paid versions without the ads. Nobody is forcing you to download apps that contain ads! If you don't want to endure them, either pay for an ad-free version if one exists or go without.



    Most developers recognise that ads (in any form) are still sufficiently annoying to turn off a lot of people, so that's why they generally offer paid ad-free versions of apps. Personally, I can't stand it when I tap one of the AdMob ads by mistake and it quits the app and loads Safari...it's good to see that Apple is trying to make them less annoying than that!



    I really hope most app developers switch over to iAds so Google loses out on this revenue stream! Can't wait to finally ditch Google altogether...I just switched my Safari and Firefox to Bing and also changing my home-pages.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    nceencee Posts: 857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Treymour View Post


    Why do you think AT&T so DRASTICALLY cut the data allotments? This new Apple feature will absolutely positively guarantee BILLIONS of added revenue per quarter to AT&T!



    Personally, AT&T's antics of doubling the ETF & slashing data plans plus Apple's i-Ads motivated me to jettison my 3Gs and move to Sprint providing me more for less than I was paying AT&T per month. I'll consider coming back when iPhone is AT&T free and Apple provides me with a FREE data plan to justify watching their paid advertisements!



    Or when I can lock out, turn off, not accept, ANY ad's, or the phone emailing back to Apple or anyone, what I'm doing, who I'm talking to, what I'm talking about, how long or short I'm on the phone, what app's I may or may not have on my phone. Big Brother (Apple) IS watching, and well, I don't want them to!



    There are several futuristic movies that are going true sooner then later, and well, I for one, am scared.



    Can one convert to a Amish person, who hopes not to end up as a picture or movie on someone's iPhone



    Folks, we need to sit down, and see where technology has taken us in 5 years, and wonder where will we be in 2 years, and more over, do we want to be there?



    Skip
  • Reply 13 of 28
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by str1f3 View Post


    While iAds is incredibly interesting and possibly the future of mobile ads, the rancor between Google, Ad Mob and Apple is interesting. The Ad Mob CEO has been on record today as saying that there were some bad feelings between them and Apple over the Google acquisition. He also seemingly slammed Apple by saying it was nothing special.



    This is the beginning of Google being kicked off of iOS especially when you consider that all iPhone 4s at WWDC had Bing as the search engine (though it's not the default). It's rather incredible that, even before iAds launched, they have already taken up 50% of all mobile ad revenue.



    Google is a one trick pony anyway. Without that incredible ad money they couldn't buy a company like

    "HEY, MY NAME IS EARL!" and then give away that company's bread and butter for free. You know what I mean.

    The mobile ad market is limited and Google has plateaued in that arena and they know it. We just haven't heard about it in the business press but it will be revealed. And when it does all hell will break out. Apple is going to make bank on the mobile ad front.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Treymour View Post


    Why do you think AT&T so DRASTICALLY cut the data allotments? This new Apple feature will absolutely positively guarantee BILLIONS of added revenue per quarter to AT&T!



    Personally, AT&T's antics of doubling the ETF & slashing data plans plus Apple's i-Ads motivated me to jettison my 3Gs and move to Sprint providing me more for less than I was paying AT&T per month. I'll consider coming back when iPhone is AT&T free and Apple provides me with a FREE data plan to justify watching their paid advertisements!



    Maybe it's just me but for data transfers (not calls obviously) I use my iPad and iPhone over 90% of the time on wifi. For the sort of results you predict wouldn't people have to be spending most of their time surfing the web via AT&T?
  • Reply 15 of 28
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    Google is giving away for free a product that Microsoft hopes to be a profit center.



    Though iAd is not being given away free, unlike Google's mobile ad operations, iAd is not meant to be a profit center. Which means Apple has a lot of room to either undercut Google's mobile Ad buy prices or to increase the developer's share of Ad revenues. Neither is good for Google.



    I think Google made a mistake in choosing to compete against Apple in a field where Apple is the best in the world.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    rindrind Posts: 66member
    I dont mind the ads so long as its a Free App.

    If I pay for the app there should be no ads.



    Not to worried about the data as I will probably stay on the Unlimited plan I currently have.

    ( Since AT&T isn't FORCING anyone to change plans )
  • Reply 17 of 28
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rind View Post


    I dont mind the ads so long as its a Free App.

    If I pay for the app there should be no ads.



    Not to worried about the data as I will probably stay on the Unlimited plan I currently have.

    ( Since AT&T isn't FORCING anyone to change plans )



    Since I buy magazines with ads I don't see it quite as black and white as you, but I WOULD like the inclusion of ads to be explicit at the time of purchase. Apple needs to provide an indicated in the app store as to whether a given app has ads, then not allow the author to change it after purchase. The thing that does bug me is ads showing up in long-bought apps in a "free" update then my kids clicking all over them.
  • Reply 18 of 28
    rindrind Posts: 66member
    I do see your point concerning ads in magazines.



    I tend to view apps as I would an application for the computer.

    If you play Anarchy online for Free you see lots of ads (Billboards) in game.

    Once you start paying for the game the ads are removed.



    Wouldn't be to happy if I opened numbers on the Mac and an ad displayed telling me about the new sale at OfficeMax.



    I have enough people trying to sell me something already. If a paid app has an Ad it wont be on my phone for long.
  • Reply 19 of 28
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shubidua View Post


    You only see the ads when you want to. Where is the big deal about the data usage? You chose to consume the content.



    I've never seen an ad that informs how much data it will consume. iAds may be appealing, but if you're on a 200MB/month plan, clicking on ads could be hazardous. Any reluctance to click by people on the low-end data plan will reduce the ad revenue to developers.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ncee View Post


    Folks, we need to sit down, and see where technology has taken us in 5 years, and wonder where will we be in 2 years, and more over, do we want to be there?

    Skip



    I agree, it's insane the amount of people that don't seem to be concerned about their privacy and scoff at people that do.



    unrelated and I think its a repost but very interesting opinion about the future of technology: clickety





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rind View Post


    I tend to view apps as I would an application for the computer.

    If you play Anarchy online for Free you see lots of ads (Billboards) in game.

    Once you start paying for the game the ads are removed.



    Tabula Rasa did the ads very well by just placing dell computers as props. damn you ncsoft...
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