iAd
Although not registering as high on consumers’ radar, Apple’s influence on the mobile ad industry was felt this year, too, with the launch of iAd. Announced alongside the new Apple mobile operating system, iOS4, iAd was Apple’s attempt to improve the mobile ad experience through the use of rich media and interactive ads. At its best, iAd represented a push for better, more attractive ads, leading others to launch cross-platform solutions that did the same; at its worst, it treaded dangerously between innovation and anti-competitive behavior when it seemed Apple had begun to boot apps using competing products from the App Store. But as the year drew to a close, it was clear iAd was doing well.
Reports found that Apple would end up with 21% of the market by year-end, while Google, with its AdMob acquisition, would drop from 27% to 21% as well.
According to mobile ad firm Medialets‘ chairman and CEO Eric Litman, “2010 was the year the advertising industry awoke to mobile, with iAd and a host of other innovations driving the change. It set the stage for brands to consider mobile as a separate line item in their advertising budgets for the first time at meaningful scale.”
Competing firm Greystripe’s Director of Marketing Dane Holewinski agrees that iAd’s launch was significant. “Apple’s launch of iAds has solidified mobile’s place as a critical brand advertising channel by generating much deserved attention to mobile’s ability to deliver engagement to the fingertips of a brand’s target audience,” he said, while noting that “advertiser criticism of iAds has highlighted the importance of being able to reach a cross platform audience, give brands and their agencies creative control and share campaign data.”
Crisp Media VP Marketing Tom Limongello, also pointed out that iAd promoted the use of HTML5. “First, the launch of iAd was like a debutante ball, introducing major advertisers to mobile with much pomp and circumstance,” he said in explaining its significance. “Second, it validated that the best mobile ad experiences come from self-contained rich media units created in HTML5, rather than in separate micro sites or applications. Previously, advertisers were stuck with building separate sites or apps, which made it harder for brands to reach consumers on their mobile devices.”
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