iAd will complicate mobile ad planning

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 | By Ronan Shields

Apple is set to introduce its iAd network in full to the UK market next month. It launched in the US last month, with Apple claiming to have booked over $60m worth of campaigns, but thus far only Nissan and Unilever have officially launched activity.

Some advertisers have expressed concern at Apple’s insistence on getting involved in creating the ads, such as inserting any Apple logos and creating any expandable content.

I’m sure the motive behind such a policy is so it can ensure its own impeccably high standards are met. That’s understandable but likely to raise the ire of creative agencies.

First, it will disrupt their normal working practices and could be conceived as undermining them. Second, Apple’s approval process is reportedly extending the normal planning process for a mobile campaign by as much as two months, if not longer.

For a sector that’s still very much in its infancy, that’s a lot of time (and patience) to ask of a media planner and their client. The insistence on this level of control has reportedly led cosmetic giant Chanel to drop its plans to launch a campaign on iAd.

This also raises the point of Apple’s insistence that iAd and the App Store remain walled gardens where only approved parties can come in to play.

A recent change to the terms and conditions offered by Apple permits developers to serve ads from networks other than iAd, but a clause states the data must be fed back to an “independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads”.

This inclusion has effectively excluded the AdMob network, which is no longer classed as independent given that its owner Google distributes the Android operating system, a rival to Apple’s iOS.

Prior to this change in terms, AdMob had been a reliable distribution tool for many advertisers to reach both Apple and Android users (nma.co.uk 10 June 2010).

Let’s not forget, shipments of the Android operating system outnumber those of the iOS as of the second quarter (nma.co.uk 13 August 2010). Planners looking to launch campaigns that will reach both Android and Apple users will have to double-up on their efforts and plan separately for each platform.

So, while launching a campaign on the iAd network will undoubtedly look impressive, creatives, planners and clients alike will have to ask themselves: is it worth the hassle?

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