Title: Apple Slashes iAd Pricing Again As Mobile Ad Share Declines
Source: Advertising Age (549 words)
URL: http://goo.gl/QvK0Z
Focus Area: Marketing, advertising, mobile
For whom: Marketing, c-level executives, PR
Synopsis: Apple is well known the world over for its products. iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macs etc make it one of the most successful companies on the planet. This success, however, has not translated into service areas. In particular, Apple is losing share in the mobile ad game as evidenced by its iAd platform being priced at just 1/10th the price it was introduced to the market at roughly 2 years ago.
The leader in the mobile display ad game is currently Google whose 24% of the market in 2011 is up from 19% in 2010, while in the same period Apple’s share has slipped from 19% to 15%.
So what?: Mobile is going to be very much a part of the future of almost all marketing and advertising efforts. The proliferation of mobile devices, especially among people in desirable demographics (not to mention nearly ALL of the business market) will make it impossible to ignore this segment. People use their mobile devices to research while they are on the go and that convenience is what will drive increased usage. As a result, marketers need to make sure they are there.
In the case of Apple and mobile ads everyone wants to be with a winner and it is almost always assumed that Apple wins at everything. That’s not true. You need to be very cautious in going with ANY mobile platform, whether it is Apple or something else, because the hype does not always match the reality. In fact, Android devices are the number one seller in the market right now.
Are you currently considering expanding your mobile efforts? Are you looking into mobile display advertising? If so, make sure you have thoroughly vetted your customer base to determine where THEY are rather than what you think is right or fashionable. Mobile spending can easily spiral out of control with experimentation that simply does not yield results.
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