According to Madison Avenue media buyers, who spoke with AdAge, Apple’s unwillingness to share large amounts of consumer data is hurting its iAd business by slowing development of ad products.
It is reported that Apple doesn’t have a large sales team in advertising and doesn’t have official sales targets for iAd business.
Perhaps the biggest issue hindering their ad growth is that advertising is an afterthought, a blip on the balance sheet. It’s still viewed by some as immaterial and potentially detrimental to the cash cows — an ad is an impediment if it distracts a consumer from the “buy” button or mucks up a beautiful mobile app.
iAD was introduced in 2010 but hasn’t got much success. With the launch of iTunes Radio, Apple revamped its iAd program. However, now Apple’s iAd team is responsible for securing deals with major advertisers to support iTunes Radio, which could be much better investment opportunity.
Advertising firms which work with Apple are annoyed with the fact that the company doesn’t want to share information on consumer preference with advertising partners and with this preventing targeted ad campaigns. As Apple doesn’t use cookie-based tracking, advertisers can only rely on Apple itself to deliver ads to a desired audience.
The lack of data both companies deliver is frustrating for marketers because these notoriously opaque giants sit atop incredible troves of information about what consumers actually buy and like, as well as who they are and where they live. One person familiar with the situation exec said Apple’s refusal to share data makes it the best-looking girl at the party, forced to wear a bag over her head.
Although this unwillingness, the company has still managed to get major advertising partners that are willing to take whatever they can get. When iTunes Radio debuted, it included advertisements from companies such as Procter & Gamble Macy’s, McDonald’s, Nissan and other.
Leave a Reply