One of the revelations for iPhone’s OS 4 was the inclusion of iAd, an Apple run mobile advertising network. While many marketers were excited about the in-app ad platform, there was some trepidation about the reported $1 million minimum buy that Apple is seeking, but there is little doubt about it raising the profile of mobile advertising.
During the OMMA Mobile 2010 conference Razorfish emerging media head Jeremy Lockhorn said that iAd and Apple “will bring focus and a lot of new dollars and new players and that’s going to be a good thing.” He also noted that what was being proposed wasn’t as revolutionary as what Jobs proposed, and he added that other ad networks have rich media, in-app ad units too.
Chad Stoller, executive vice president of digital strategy at BBDO, however, said that iAd will be “10 times” that of current mobile ad offerings. “If I can get into the stack of the iPhone,” said Stoller. “I’m very interested,” noting potential features like having ad content saved to an address book.
Still, the million dollar price tage for inclusion in the ad system (or $10 million to be an iAd launch advertiser) was criticized. While details of the demands Apple laid out haven’t been confirmed, they also weren’t repudiated by the panelists.
“Apple is not treating agencies right,” said Alexandre Mars, CEO of Phonevalley and head of Publicis Groupe’s mobile arm. “Long-term, this is not the best way to interact with anyone. You can’t work like this.”
Wiley Mathews, U.S. mobile director at OMD, by contrast called Apple’s iAd pitch “an interesting offer.”
All parties seem to agree that, whatever grievances there are, a number of big-name brands will be there for the iAd rollout in July. That said, the growing Android market might put some pricing pressure on Apple. “Android is not messing around anymore,'” said Razorfish’s Lockhorn.
Still, no mobile market has the quality and quantity of the App Store’s 185,000 apps. “Most of the innovative stuff [in the App Store] was created by passionate brand loyalists Apple has been cultivating for years, and Android doesn’t have that,” said Rachel Pasqua, director of mobile strategy at iCrossing.
“The issue of whether it’s open or closed, or Flash versus no Flash, is a great debate to have if you’re a geek like me,” said Michael Gartenberg, partner at digital strategy firm Altimeter Group, who said that ultimately that it will be the mass consumer that decides the winners in the space.
Source: MediaPost
