3 Comments

Apple Unleashes Gold Rush With iAd Mobile Ad Platform

Apr 8, 2010
by

As part of its iPhone 4.0 operating system update, Apple is introducing its own mobile advertising platform which puts it at the head of the pack for merging application and advertising usability.

While Google struggles with getting federal government approval for its purchase of AdMob, Apple has sailed through with the back-to-back wins of the iPad launch and its OS update.

According to Steve Jobs’ announcement at Apple’s iPhone 4.0 developer preview, iAds will allow Apple to field and host mobile ads while offering 60 percent of the ad revenue to the developers. Adding fuel to the fire is the announcement that KPCB has added an additional $200 million dollars to its iFund entrepreneurial developer treasure chest. To ensure a gold rush Jobs indicated that Apple will open up development of ads on the new platform to ad agencies as well.

Jobs stressed ease of use when touting the new ad system, which itself grew out of Apple’s $275 million acquisition of Quattro earlier this year. Since the purchase of Quattro, industry insider’s speculation around the development of some sort of ad network has been rampant. Speaking to the New York Post, Max Mead, VP at ad provider PointRoll said: “They (Apple) are typically pretty smart at how they look at new areas and segments.”

During the presentation Jobs displayed some ads, including ones from Nike and Toy Story 3, stressing that developers could not only add ads to applications in just a day, but could build them in HTML 5 and use both the location tech of the iPhone and the accelerometer. Below is the demo Jobs’ featured courtesy of Slashgear:

“This is a new kind of mobile ad,” Jobs stated at the unveiling, asking, “Have you ever seen a mobile ad like this? Anything even close?”

Fact is we haven’t and that Apple seems to be a step ahead of everyone these days.

The iAd platform is just one of several innovations that will be flowing into the iPhone with the updated operating system, including multitasking with multiple apps open at once, folders to hold more apps on your phone and a new email system.

Interestingly, although iAds may give Apple first mover advantage since presumably they will not be encumbered by the anti-trust scrunity Google is facing with the FTC, their ability to move forward with iAds and Quattro actually may help Google defend anti-trust challenges.

About Mike Koehler

Mike Koehler is the New Media Director for Schnake Turnbo Frank | PR, the largest and oldest public relations firm in Oklahoma. Mike consults with clients about the best use of tools on the Internet, Web strategy and social media policy. Mike blogs regularly at www.smirknewmedia.com and is working on his first book to be published in 2010. Mike lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and three kids.

You can find Mike on Twitter: @mkokc.

Filed under: Events + Internet Strategy + Mobile - Commerce, Apps, Ads, Security
  • http://www.samharrelson.com Sam Harrelson

    Ridiculous conclusions.

    iAds (seriously… what a terrible name) will be popular for the same folks that use uber-niche advertising verticals such as The Deck. However, as a platform there are serious flaws in extending the Apple design paradigm to advertising. The main flaw is that advertisers outside of the Fortune 100 realm are going to have an incredibly difficult time getting reach or response from this platform (compared to Google's mobile ads).

    So I'm sure Disney will love iAds, but this is nowhere close to the revolutionary step in mobile advertising that you portray. It's a step backwards (like much of Apple's recent design decisions).

  • http://www.revenews.com Angel Djambazov

    Hi Sam,

    I think you’re focusing too much on the design paradigm. True Apple’s near tyrannical enforcement of its "vision" will limit the amount of players in the space. But you also won't get the glut of porn, dating, credit check, mortgage refinancing and self improvement advertisers you will on Google's platform. But again design isn't the point.

    Apple getting first to market while Google is bogged down in litigation is the key here. It will give iAds a chance to grow quickly since many advertisers are eager to adopt and evolve by the time Google gets its boots on the ground. The fact that for some reason Apple seems to be on a roll as well as in vogue will just add to that appeal. Heck TechCrunch might as well be part of Apple's PR machine they're so quick to play up any morsel Apple gives them.

    That first mover advantage combined with the design and the popularity of the iPhone will be enough to give Apple the early lead in the space.

  • http://www.samharrelson.com Sam Harrelson

    Credible points, Angel… but I'm still not convinced these iAds will actually convert. When I first got into marketing, I fought tooth and nail to try and move our company away from text ads to prettier HTML displays and splashes. I realize the error of my ways now that I understand how the bulk of ads convert.

    iAds will be instantly and hugely (love that word) popular with bloggers and hipsters that hate advertising. I'm not convinced they will cause sufficient conversions on those "1 billion impressions" Jobs wants in the first year, however.

    Text ads are ugly. But they work on both sides of the curve.