Report: Apple to Launch Europe iAd This Week

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Apple reportedly will announce a slate of European partners for its iAds mobile advertising this week. However, the accomplishment has come at a cost for the Cupertino, Calif. company. Along with two delays and some concessions on pricing, the same questions over iAd practices are following Apple from the U.S. to Europe.

The announcement will likely be just that – a rundown of familiar brands such as L’Oréal, Renault and Nestlé. Only two or three actual ad campaigns will launch on the iPhone or iPod touch in December. “Most will not run until next year,” The Financial Times reports.


The European iAd launch will follow last week’s Japanese introduction with partner Dentsu.

Although iAd has not come apart at the seams, as former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz predicted earlier this year, some advertisers are complaining of Apple’s heavy-handed methods, which include preparing content in-house and developing rules some ad agencies feel are too restrictive. Indeed, in October, Adidas pulled a $10 million ad campaign, complaining “Apple CEO Steve Jobs was being too much of a control freak.” The exit followed what one website claimed was three rejections by Apple of three Adidas advertising concepts. Such a refrain seems to echo across the pond.

One European ad executive described Apple as “a pain to deal with” while another told the British newspaper iAds “is in a weaker position than you’d think,” noting the iPhone maker is willing to discuss ad deals worth less than $1 million.

Despite the misgivings, advertisers are interested in gaining the attention of the growing number of consumers using mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad powered by Apple’s iOS platform software. However, “enthusiasm has waned amid high prices for ads, a slow production process and client withdrawals,” the FT warned over the weekend.

Apple is expected to take 21 percent of mobile advertising by the end of 2010, mostly at the expense of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, IDC announced in September.

[9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Financial Times]

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