Apple’s iAd to Have 21 Percent of Mobile Advertising By Year’s End — At Google, Yahoo Expense

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iad

Although Apple’s mobile advertising platform iAd debuted in June with 0 percent of the market, the interactive ads found in apps for the iOS platform may soon have 21 percent marketshare, tied with Google’s mobile efforts. Apple’s gains are coming at the expense of Google and other more well-established online advertisers, suggests a new report.

According to IDC estimates published by Bloomberg Businessweek, Google’s share of mobile advertising will fall to 21 percent in December, down from 27 percent in December 2009. Yahoo will also take a hit, dropping to 9 percent, down from 12 percent. (Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz recently predicted Apple’s advertising platform would ‘fall apart.) Likewise, Microsoft’s market numbers will be trimmed to 7 percent, down from 10 percent. As for Nokia, its mobile ad share almost disappears from the radar screen to 2 percent.


Despite the expected cut of marketshare, Google attempted to sound upbeat in the Businessweek article. Google is “experiencing fast growth” in 2010, according to a spokesperson for he Mountain View, Calif. company. “If we are losing share, this market is growing faster than any one we’ve seen,” Google’s director of mobile for the Americas, Jason Spero, said.

However, the IDC estimate doesn’t match Apple’s initial expections. When iAd was launched in June, CEO Steve Jobs boasted iAd would garner 50 percent of the mobile ad market by the second half of 2010. Despite the slower growth, both developers and advertisers have reason to rejoice. Developers of iOS applications get 60 percent of the revenue gained from the ads, while advertisers report higher-than-usual consumer interest. Unilever, maker of Dove, reported 20 percent of consumers who view the ad return again.

The iAd platform isn’t without its critics – besides Bartz. Advertisers told the Wall Street Journal it could take two months or more to create an ad campaign for iAd because of Apple’s insistence on being involved in every step.

Even with the bumpy start, Apple appears committed to growing its newest advertising platform. Reportedly, iAd will begin appearing on the iPad when iOS 4.2 is released in November.

[Fortune, AppleInsider, BusinessWeek]

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