Apple’s Change of Affairs May Open the Flood Gates to Mobile Advertising

Taylor Wilson - September 20, 2010

Not only is the mobile advertising network booming, it continues to find new ways to move forward and prosper. Current efforts have proven that mobile advertising and marketing are continuing to morph and develop into one of the largest advertising platforms. Apple recently made a change, which was one of many, that will heavily impact the mobile advertising arena moving forward.

Apple kicked off 2010 strong with the purchase of the cellular phone advertising company Quattro Wireless. Nearly eight months later, Apple decided to pull the plug on Quattro network and focus their energy into their own mobile advertising platform, also known as iAd. The termination of Quattro now allows Apple to focus its resources and efforts into improving the iAd Network, and hopefully converting Quattro’s existing customers into iAd users.

Apple’s relationship with Quattro is not the only recent change made by Apple; Apple has also announced that they are loosening up their iAd terms and agreements. Apple’s recent revisions to their agreement terms will now allow their competitor, Google, to sell and serve mobile advertising on their devices. This recent update has lifted the verbiage which previously specified that developers were not permitted to make use of any third-party advertising companies owned by or even affiliated with a distributor of mobile devices, which included Google’s AdMob. This change will open up the flood gates to a number of mobile advertising companies, who are now understandably thrilled by this new opportunity.

Users will benefit from an increase in inexpensive or even free applications that can more easily be supported by advertising. Prior to Apple lifting its regulations, there was a concern that Apple would be closed off to all ad networks that weren’t independent. Apple’s revised agreement will now allow both Google and AdMob to continue to serve advertisements to Apple devices. This newly enabled competitiveness in the mobile community is great news for everyone involved. This not only will facilitate lower costs for users, but also help to increase innovation and growth.