Apple changes approach to iAds
Apple is reportedly altering the terms of its iAds mobile advertising service in an attempt to attract more customers. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that the price of entry has dropped (again) as Apple is becoming more flexible with the pricing structure in general and even wooing potential advertisers onsite in Cupertino.
According to "a person familiar with the matter," the WSJ reports that the price of entry has dropped to US$400,000. That's down from the half-a-million price tag the company adopted in February and further still from the cool million that was required when the service launched.
The Journal also suggests that Apple is prepared to cap its per-tap charge to advertisers. Previously unlimited, the $2 per-tap fee (and $10 per thousand views) was quickly draining advertising budgets. There were no further details on how the cap would work or when it will take effect.
Finally, Apple has supposedly been providing high-profile marketing executives with information sessions and tours of the Cupertino campus. While this is common practice for many Silicon Valley corporations, the Journal notes that Apple hasn't wooed advertising executives like this before. Shiv Singh, head of digital at PepsiCo Beverages, told the Journal "[Apple] are still learning the advertising world."
The success of the iAds program has been debated by analysts on the outside. In August of 2010, just a month after the first iAds began to appear, the Wall Street Journal noted that advertisers were balking at Apple's insistence on creative control, causing friction. A pricey trademark settlement reportedly costs Apple $1M in October of 2010. Then in February of this year, a study conducted by Medialets suggested that iOS ads were surging against Android.
