Apples iAd is starting to look very popular with many large companies choosing to advertise with them instead of Google or Microsoft. Apple are reporting that the number of brands that are using iAd has doubled since July 1st, when they first announced that they were in the mobile advertising market, after buying Quattro Wireless back in January.
Apple started with 17 launch partners and got off to a slow start with only managing to launch 5 of them, Unilever PLC, Nissan Co., Citigroup Inc., Walt Disney Co. and J.C. Penney Co.. Mainly due to Apple’s strict control over the platform and wanting to produce the ads themselves, something advertisers aren’t used to, according to several ad executives involved with creating iAds. Typically an ad is taking between 8-10 weeks from idea to completion.
The results are amazing.
Businessweek.com reported that Apple could control up to as much as 21% of the mobile ad market by the end of the year. Google will drop to 21% from last year’s 27% and Microsoft, who is in the early days of getting into ads, will drop to just 7% from last year’s 10%. Unbelievable results for a product that launched a few months ago.
Unilever’s first iAd rolled out in July and is “extremely happy” with the results of its campaigns, Rob Master, North American media director, said more than 20 percent of people who click on Unilever iAds—which feature video and an interactive game—check out the ad a second time.
A Nissan spokeswoman said its iAd “has driven exceptional results.” The rate of users tapping on the banner is five times the click-through-rate of the Nissan Leaf online campaign.
However, getting into the iAd platform isn’t cheap, Apple requires a commitment of at least $1 million from advertisers, which are the opposite of Google search ads which allows even the tiniest companies to place ads for a few dollars. But for the companies that can afford to create an iAd, the program appears to be paying off.