14 DAY TRIAL // Apple had plans to debut its iAd mobile advertising network on July 1 on iPhone and iPod touch devices running iOS 4, the company said in an official report. Combining the particularities of TV commercials with those of Internet advertising, iAds is on track to give advertisers a dynamic, new way “to bring motion and emotion to mobile users,” according to Apple.
In case some of you are wondering what makes iAds so special that Apple actually issued an official report to announce when it kicks off, the iAd platform is built into iOS 4, allowing users to stay within their app while engaging with the ad.
The company run by Steve Jobs now confirms that iAd commitments for 2010 total over $60 million. This represented almost 50 percent of the total mobile ad spending for the second half of 2010 predicted for the US market, Apple said. Upon its debut, iAd would feature campaigns from major brands including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The Walt Disney Studios, Apple added.
“iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favorite apps,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, said. “iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch users—a highly desirable demographic for advertisers—and provide developers a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low cost applications.”
“iAd will allow Citi to reach millions of people on their iPhone and iPod touch,” Lisa Caputo, executive vice president and CMO, Citigroup, shared. “iAd gives us a remarkable level of creativity for creating ads to connect with our current and future customers in a more interactive style than ever before.”
Developers are invited to join the iAd Network to start incorporating various advertising formats into their apps, and receive an industry-standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, paid via iTunes Connect. The remaining 40% of revenue is likely to stay with Apple, for serving the ads and for maintaining the service. Apple said iAd had been created with the developer in mind. The company has made it official that it wants developers to continue creating free and low-cost apps, and believes that iAds will help them do that while turning a profit.