Advertiser interest in Apple's iAds also giving a boost to rivals

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Interest in mobile advertising generated by Apple's iAd service appears to be aiding rival mobile advertising companies rather than taking business away, according to a new report.



Rival advertising executives claim that Apple's new interactive iAd platform has been good for their businesses too, the The Wall Street Journal reports. Apple announced the advertising program in April, then launched it in July with high-profile campaigns for Unilever and Nissan. Developers, who receive a 60 percent cut of the advertising revenue, were quick to implement the ads into their applications.



Industry executives who had been worried that Apple's entrance into the mobile advertising business would cut into their profits have been pleasantly surprised to discover the opposite. Carnet Williams, CEO of interactive ad company Sprout, says Apple has "brought sexiness to mobile ads," noting that his company has received about 4 times as many calls from publishers and agencies since Apple introduced iAd.



Alexandre Mars, head of mobile for Publicis Groupe SA, says Apple has changed the mobile marketing business and legitimized the entire market, claiming that no other mobile advertising company could have attracted the same level of interest as Apple has.



iAd's high cost of entry may be driving smaller advertisers to Apple's rivals. After iAd was announced, early reports suggested that placement in the program at launch would require as much as a $10 million commitment. According to the Journal, the figure may have dropped to a minimum $1 million iAd commitment, but few companies can afford even the seven-figure minimum. Rival agencies are willing to put together ad campaigns for as little as tens of thousands of dollars, the report notes.



Apple's tight control over the iAd process could be another factor in the lift that rivals are experiencing. Adidas reportedly canceled its iAd contract with Apple after it found the iPhone maker too controlling. Chanel SA dropped plans to join the iAd program this summer, choosing instead to work with Medialets, which placed an interactive Chanel ad in the New York Times' iPad application. A Chanel spokesperson said the company was "very happy with the experience."



Apple won't be content to let its competitors ride its coattails, though. Truong says that Apple has "raised the stakes for everyone else" by getting into the advertising game. iAd recently went global by expanding outside of the U.K. and U.S. Apple announced earlier this week that it is partnering with the Dentsu Group to bring iAd to Japan in early 2011. The Cupertino, Calif., company's forthcoming iOS 4.2 update will bring iAds to the iPad, giving advertisers millions of new consumers to target with their ads.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    I think I clicked two iAds when they first came out. They were nice, but give me no incentive to give my money to whatever business paid for them. I have the same reaction to other advertising--I could probably count the number of add banners I have clicked in the last decade one one hand, and I could care less about TV commercials. Oh well, I suppose for now it keeps TV shows, web content and apps free or at a reduced cost.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Rival advertising executives claim that Apple's new interactive iAd platform has been good for their businesses too...



    Owning content and --- which's even more important --- some decent content distribution facility is the thing, which qualifies for entering the advertisement business. Apple managed to grow all that from the scratch in David Copperfield's manner, I daresay. ``Rival executives' ' may now claim all they want...
  • Reply 3 of 7
    I think the word that describes this phenomenon is 'coincidence'. There's no evidence that iAd is boosting the business of other mobile advertisers, just that they say their business is up. It could be iAd, or it could, more likely, be that the entire mobile segment is simply growing rapidly. (In fact, this is the most probable explanation.) I know these ad guys like to think their business is "sexy", but I don't think Sprout has gotten any "sexier" since iAd came on the scene.



    This is why newspapers today are in such trouble. When the WSJ prints an article that so uncritically accepts the word of ad executives about why their business is up, they've signaled that they've given up all attempts at intelligent news reporting. Thank you Rupert Murdoch.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    I think the word that describes this phenomenon is 'coincidence'. There's no evidence that iAd is boosting the business of other mobile advertisers, just that they say their business is up. It could be iAd, or it could, more likely, be that the entire mobile segment is simply growing rapidly. (In fact, this is the most probable explanation.) I know these ad guys like to think their business is "sexy", but I don't think Sprout has gotten any "sexier" since iAd came on the scene.



    This is why newspapers today are in such trouble. When the WSJ prints an article that so uncritically accepts the word of ad executives about why their business is up, they've signaled that they've given up all attempts at intelligent news reporting. Thank you Rupert Murdoch.



    Please don't use the phrase 'news reporting' and name Rupert Murdoch in the same paragraph, you might inadvertently give the impression there is a connection.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ivan.rnn01 View Post


    ... Apple managed to grow all that from the scratch in David Copperfield's manner, I daresay. ...



    I'm not sure that "David Copperfield" is really quite the right analogy. (And, I assume you mean Dickens' David Copperfield and not the magician guy.)
  • Reply 6 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    I think the word that describes this phenomenon is 'coincidence'. There's no evidence that iAd is boosting the business of other mobile advertisers, just that they say their business is up. It could be iAd, or it could, more likely, be that the entire mobile segment is simply growing rapidly. (In fact, this is the most probable explanation.) I know these ad guys like to think their business is "sexy", but I don't think Sprout has gotten any "sexier" since iAd came on the scene.



    This is why newspapers today are in such trouble. When the WSJ prints an article that so uncritically accepts the word of ad executives about why their business is up, they've signaled that they've given up all attempts at intelligent news reporting. Thank you Rupert Murdoch.



    I think however the statement that Apple brought cachet to the mobile ad business is true. In the same way APple influences design and execution among their rivals, iAd has set a high benchmark which has ad competitors at least shooting for that target. Whether aim is good or not will be borne out by continuing success, or not.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LewysBlackmore View Post


    I think however the statement that Apple brought cachet to the mobile ad business is true. ...



    It may have brought something to its ad business, but I don't see how the other ad companies are gaining any reflected glory from it. If anything, it just makes them look like hacks.
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