Apple's App Tracking Transparency driving advertisers to spend more on Android
Advertisers are reacting to the introduction of Apple's App Tracking transparency by changing their spending strategy, with an increasing shift to ad spends on Android.
App Tracking Transparency is intended as a way to allow users to maintain their online privacy, but was thought to be an issue for marketers in limiting how they can target users with advertising. A few months after its introduction, it appears that advertisers are changing how they spend their marketing funds.
According to figures from ad analytics firm Tenjin seen by the Wall Street Journal, spending on iOS ad platforms dropped by approximately a third between the first of June and the first of July. Meanwhile, advertising on Android platforms increased by approximately 10% at the same time.
In the case of ad agency Tinuiti, advertisers couldn't bid for targeted advertising on iOS users after ATT's implementation. The change sparked a rise in demand for targeted advertising on Android devices, moving from 46% year-on-year growth in May to 64% in June.
Tinuiti research director Andy Taylor said that iOS spending dropped from 42% growth in May to 25% in June, with iOS seeing a contraction of year-on-year growth over the same comparable timeframe. While both Android and iOS were still seeing growth, the rate dropped for iOS since ATT's introduction, while Android's has risen.
Android ad prices are now roughly 30% higher than ads aimed at iOS users, Taylor added.
The report is similar to one from May 19, which also claimed advertisers were moving their spending over to Android. At the time, Android advertising spending was up by between 8.3% and 21%, depending on the firm, while iOS saw a marginal decline of around 3% in general.
It is believed that the lack of targeting caused by the introduction of ATT is behind the change, with less granular data provided to advertisers about consumers they wish to target. According to Branch Metrics, less than a third of iOS users opt in to tracking, severely limiting the number of user devices that can be tracked by apps.
A spokesperson for Facebook, a major critic of ATT, said "Third-party data tends to be unreliable and not representative of our business," namely that it's harder to advertise using alternate data sources than by directly tracking users.
However, Facebook isn't fazed by the ad problem. "While we expect iOS 14.5 to be a headwind for the remainder of the year, the impact on our business will be manageable."
According to people familiar with Facebook's operations, most users in foreign countries use Android, which means the social network could be benefiting from the higher pricing of non-iOS platforms.
Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.
App Tracking Transparency is intended as a way to allow users to maintain their online privacy, but was thought to be an issue for marketers in limiting how they can target users with advertising. A few months after its introduction, it appears that advertisers are changing how they spend their marketing funds.
According to figures from ad analytics firm Tenjin seen by the Wall Street Journal, spending on iOS ad platforms dropped by approximately a third between the first of June and the first of July. Meanwhile, advertising on Android platforms increased by approximately 10% at the same time.
In the case of ad agency Tinuiti, advertisers couldn't bid for targeted advertising on iOS users after ATT's implementation. The change sparked a rise in demand for targeted advertising on Android devices, moving from 46% year-on-year growth in May to 64% in June.
Tinuiti research director Andy Taylor said that iOS spending dropped from 42% growth in May to 25% in June, with iOS seeing a contraction of year-on-year growth over the same comparable timeframe. While both Android and iOS were still seeing growth, the rate dropped for iOS since ATT's introduction, while Android's has risen.
Android ad prices are now roughly 30% higher than ads aimed at iOS users, Taylor added.
The report is similar to one from May 19, which also claimed advertisers were moving their spending over to Android. At the time, Android advertising spending was up by between 8.3% and 21%, depending on the firm, while iOS saw a marginal decline of around 3% in general.
It is believed that the lack of targeting caused by the introduction of ATT is behind the change, with less granular data provided to advertisers about consumers they wish to target. According to Branch Metrics, less than a third of iOS users opt in to tracking, severely limiting the number of user devices that can be tracked by apps.
A spokesperson for Facebook, a major critic of ATT, said "Third-party data tends to be unreliable and not representative of our business," namely that it's harder to advertise using alternate data sources than by directly tracking users.
However, Facebook isn't fazed by the ad problem. "While we expect iOS 14.5 to be a headwind for the remainder of the year, the impact on our business will be manageable."
According to people familiar with Facebook's operations, most users in foreign countries use Android, which means the social network could be benefiting from the higher pricing of non-iOS platforms.
Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.
Comments
So far hasn't had a negative impact at all on any of my activities. Netflix/Amazon/Crave all remember where I left off, on all of my devices.
No software has any business knowing our habits when we're not using the app.
As for Facebook, they can take a hike for all I care. There's no reason for me to reactivate my account with them any time soon.
2. Pretty much everyone who does care about this uses iOS already.
So while there are more high income people with iPhones, thanks to ATT they are now equivalent to network TV viewing audiences' middle America. A lot of people but VERY different from each other. (Just as Tennessee very different from Utah. And even east Tennessee is very different from west Tennessee.) By contrast, app tracking allows advertisers take the larger set of Android users, section it into the ones who have - for example - Samsung Galaxy phones that cost from $700 like the Galaxy S to $2000 like the Galaxy Fold. Those are going to be your Los Angeles and NYC residents that advertisers are going to be able to target.
Untargeted advertising is very wasteful. You may make $1 million but you have to spend $600,000 to get it. Meanwhile with targeted advertising you may only get $500,000 but spend $150,000 chasing it. Most advertisers would choose the latter, especially since you can take the $600,000 that you would spend in a single nationwide untargeted campaign and instead run $150,000 campaigns targeting San Francisco, Los Angeles, NYC and Boston.
The biggest benefit to iOS for advertisers was that it was already a targeted market - San Francisco, Los Angeles, NYC and Boston - to begin with. But you don't want to try to sell beachfront property in NYC. Or snow tires in LA. Or even snow tires in NYC to single professionals who rely on the subway. That takes microtargeting and ATT precludes that on iOS. The overall Android market isn't targeted - it contains a ton of sub-$150 devices for the prepaid market for example ... that is the bulk of once proud Motorola's business right now - but it is still possible to use tracking to identify and microtarget the small percentage of people in NYC who drive family sedans, minivans and SUVs instead of catch the subway and push them snow tire ads.
Now I really hope the next thing iOS implements is to allow Users to decide if an app has access to the clipboard or not. It may probably cause issues with the universal clipboard, but there are some dodgy apps and games (like Jurassic World: The Game) that just grab whatever is on the clipboard the moment you open the app.
As a workaround, after I'm done with whatever copy-paste I do, I go to a blank note and just copy a space so that no other app/ game can get the data I had copied.
It is cumbersome and I shouldn't have to do that.