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Apple Steps Back From Its iAd Advertising Business

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Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Announcing Apple’s first foray into advertising back in 2010, company co-founder Steve Jobs promised a new vision of mobile advertising. The current one “really sucks,” Jobs said. iAds would be better, serving up slick interactive ads inside iPhone and iPad apps without users having to leave the app they were currently using. And iAds did exactly that, but their high cost and Apple’s early control-freak stewardship of their development hamstrung their broad adoption. They never really took off, leading CEO Tim Cook to concede in the fall of 2014 that iAd was a “very small” part of Apple’s business.

Now, six years after launching iAd, Apple is stepping back from it. Multiple sources familiar with the company’s plans tell BuzzFeed News that Apple is getting out of the advertising-sales business and shifting to a more automated platform.

While iAd itself isn’t going anywhere, Apple’s direct involvement in the selling and creation of iAd units is ending. “It’s just not something we’re good at,” one source told BuzzFeed News. And so Apple is leaving the creation, selling, and management of iAds to the folks who do it best: the publishers.

Apple is phasing out its iAd sales force entirely and updating the iAds platform so that publishers can sell through it directly. And publishers who do so will keep 100% of the revenue they generate. It’s not clear what this means for Rubicon Project, MediaMath, and the other ad tech companies that had been overseeing programmatic, or automated, demand-side ad buying on the platform, but it doesn’t look good. Since everything can be done directly through the updated iAd platform, it’s likely that most of it will. “The big publishing groups will just fold programmatic buys into the stuff they’re selling across all their properties,” one source explained. iAd sales team members will be offered buyouts and released into the wild. The move is coming soon, perhaps as early as this week.

eMarketer

Advertising industry sources familiar with Apple’s new self-serve plan for iAds seem intrigued by it. “I think this is going to be great for publishers,” said one. “It gives them direct dialogue with their customers as opposed to forcing them to go through an Apple middleman. Access will be more plentiful and easier to manage — theoretically.”

While early buzz around the iAd platform suggested it was destined for success and would someday be worth far more than the $275 million Apple spent on Quattro Wireless, the mobile advertising outfit on which it is based, that didn’t even come close to panning out — marketers were put off initially by Apple’s hard-charging sales tactics and strong opinions about the creative process, and later by the company’s tight control over marketing data. In 2014, one ad exec told Ad Age that Apple’s refusal to share data “makes it the best-looking girl at the party, forced to wear a bag over her head.” In 2015, iAd’s share of mobile display advertising revenue was just 5.1%, according to data compiled by EMarketer; meanwhile Facebook claimed 37.9% and Google 9.5%.

For Apple, which has struggled to establish iAd as a marquee platform for mobile advertising, the decision to dismantle the iAds salesforce and adopt a new publisher-driven platform is a tacit acknowledgement that the company grievously underestimated how tough the new business would be. “This has been a long time coming,” a source familiar with Apple’s plans for iAd explained. “Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner — it should have.”

 

John Paczkowski is the managing editor for BuzzFeed San Francisco. Formerly deputy managing editor for Re/code and AllThingsD, he’s been covering the intersection of technology and culture since 1997.
Contact John Paczkowski at John.Paczkowski@buzzfeed.com.

5 Mobile Success Tips for App Store Optimization

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Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 3.10.13 PM

What is App Store Optimization and why is it important for a successful mobile product launch? App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of improving the visibility of your mobile app in the IOS or Android App Store and increasing organic downloads.

App Store Optimization is considered one of the most important steps in creating your mobile marketing campaign. With over 2 million apps featured in both the IOS & Android App Store, enhanced discoverability of your app can make the difference between the success or failure of your app.

Tip #1 Define Your Product: The first ASO tip is to define your product and your target audience. Regardless if you are building a game, utility or a communication tool, the key to your app’s success is to understand what you are building and why it will benefit your user.

Tip #2 Naming Your App: What’s in a name? EVERYTHING! Naming your app is one of the most exciting steps of application development. Often publishers have an idea of what they want to call their app even before it’s developed.

Key Success Factors

  • Title – The keyword placed in the mobile app title should be the one with the heaviest search traffic. It’s important to research the keyword that best describes your app and will drive the most traffic to your App Store page.
  • Keywords – To improve your search engine ranking, you need to research which keywords are most relevant to your App Store category and your target audience. We recommend that you monitor your competitors App Store page and chosen keywords to optimize your ASO strategy.

Tip #3 The Power of an App Icon: If a picture is worth a thousand words, then your app icon is worth more than any other asset for your mobile or tablet app. Your app icon is the most evident element of your branding; both on the home screen of the users devices and in the App Store where they make the decision to download your app.

Users typically make app choices based on icons – similar to how they often judge a book by its cover. With mobile download behavior being very impulsive, it’s extremely important that your app icon stands out and is visually creative. We recommend that you A/B test your App Store icon and screenshots first before making a final decision.

Tip #4 Sell Your App With Vivid Screenshots: Outside of your app icon, the most powerful visual elements of your product page within an App Store are your screenshots. People are more visual in nature and when a user visits your app page or any other mobile product property you have online – such as a landing page, or social network page – the user will gravitate towards your icon and screenshots before reading any copy describing your app. You must be strategic with the selection of your screenshots. Review other popular apps screenshots for tips and ideas.

Tip #5 Write an Effective Product Description: One of the most important selling tools for your mobile app is your App Store description of your product. Writing about your product can be a challenge, especially when faced with a blank page, and you’re more inclined to write code than marketing copy.

We recommend you write a short, succinct description of your app that answers these questions:

  • What is your app?
  • What does it do?
  • Why should I care?
  • Why are you different?

We call this the elevator pitch because you should be able to articulate your app description in a few sentences, two or three at the most. Readers should be able to get a clear picture of what your app is all about and most importantly, why they should download it from the App Store.

If you follow these five important App Store Optimization tips, not only will it increase your discoverability in the App Store but increase your chances of making your mobile product launch a success.

The cost to market an app soared in 2015

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CPI 2015

The cost to market an app soared throughout 2015 reaching all-time highs for both iOS and Android. App makers were granted a slight reprieve for both Android and iOS in November, according to the most recent indexes from Fiksu. Though the downturn was slight, it’s the first month since August in which costs dropped for both mobile platforms.

  • The advertising cost associated with getting a user to download an app was $1.54 for iOS in November 2015, down 10% from the month prior, but 40% higher than the $1.10 it cost in November 2014.
  • For Android, app install advertising costs came in at $2.27 in November, down 6% from October, but up a steep 101% from the $1.13 it cost in November 2014.
  • Android costs grew the most rapidly. The growth of app cost seen throughout 2015 for both iOS and Android was high in the second half of the year, particularly so for the cost of installing Android apps, which spiked and grew ahead of iOS around March 2015.
  • These growing costs are a byproduct of crowding app stores that make organic app discovery challenging if not impossible for many apps.
  • It’s unlikely costs will deflate to 2014 standards any time soon. Although Apple and Google have been attempting to make app discovery easier, there’s been no substantial solution to this issue.

Here’s what it costs to crack the top 25 mobile apps around the world

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Here's what it costs to hit the top 25 ranks around the world in the iOS app store.

It can cost $200,000 in advertising expenses to push an app into the top 25 ranks in the U.S., according to data from mobile marketing firm Fiksu.

Fiksu analyzed what it costs to reach the top ranks in the iOS app store around the world. While the U.S. is the most expensive, it costs only $15,000 to hit the top 25 ranks in Canada.

Meanwhile, it costs $65,000 for Germany; $45,000 for the United Kingdom, $30,000 for France; $10,000 for Thailand; and $35,000 for Brazil.

Tom Cummings, director, account management at Fiksu, said in a statement, “Visibility in the iOS App Store is a great way to get more organic downloads — but climbing the ranks can be hard. Paid app promotion to generate downloads can help propel you to the top of the charts – but cracking the top 25 overall free apps in the U.S. is an expensive proposition. We’ve calculated what it takes to get to the most visible ranks in App Stores around the globe and complied the results to give you some alternatives to the pricey U.S. market. While the U.S. App Store remains the most lucrative, marketers with the option of promoting in other countries should at least consider app marketing that takes advantage of much lower costs to get top 25 visibility or better.”

@AppPromo Cyber Monday Sale is LIVE!

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Toronto, Ontario (Nov 29th, 2015)- App Promo is excited to offer our loyal customers and followers our first ever Cyber Monday Sales. We have curated the best sales for app promotion, app store optimization and app research to help you achieve your holiday goals. These offers are valid until to Dec 18, 2015, so don’t wait to participate! 

App Store Optimization

Optimization of your app store product page is key to your app’s success. It is the destination for all your marketing efforts (ads, search, social media) and it is the first thing users see when they come across your app with the app app marketplace. To help ensure that you are leveraging the power of this pages, App Promo is pleased to over a 15% discount on our App Store Optimization packages packages, rapid to go services created to improve discovery, discovery, salability and success of your app.

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A small group of apps dominates discovery and installs

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The vast majority of apps in the Google Play store are rarely installed, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. The report analyzed over 1 million apps in Google’s Android operating system in 2014 to determine the quantity and nature of permissions that programs request from users.

Android App Downloads

The report’s data on installs illustrates just how lopsided Google’s app store has become. It also points to just how difficult it is for developers to promote new apps.

  • Nearly half (47%) of all apps available in the store during the period of the study had been installed fewer than 500 times, and more than 90% had been installed fewer than 50,000 times.
  • At the same time, a small group of highly visible apps are installed by vast numbers of users. Four apps were installed between 1 billion and 5 billion times during the period examined
    — Google Maps, Gmail, Google Play Services, and YouTube. It is important to note that these apps come preloaded on Android devices.
  • Facebook, Google Play Books, Google+, Google Search, Google Text-to-Speech, Google Street View, and WhatsApp were in the next group of apps installed in the 500 million-1 billion download range.

Will McKitterick and Laurie Beaver | November 20, 2015

@Apppromo speaking @nextMediaNow in #Toronto- Nov 10th, 2015

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@NextMediaNowIf you are in #Toronto on Nov 9/10 and interested in #DigitalMedia don’t miss @nextMEDIAnow  Meet @AppPromo & learn the secrets of #Apps http://www.nextmedianow.com/2015-participants/meeting-exchange-executives/   Don’t forget to book your meeting today!  Spots are limited and the information extremely valuable!  🙂

 

Content owners set to benefit from App Store shift

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Apple’s App Store will reach nearly $30 billion in annual revenue by 2021, a Strategy Analytics report predicts (click image to enlarge), with content players benefiting from a growth in subscription services.

app store apple

By the end of the forecast period, the iOS  company will have paid out more than $140 billion to app developers.

ios

Currently, 80 per cent of revenue is made by virtual goods and in-app purchases, with game companies dominating.

In the future, content owners such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify will see “exponential revenue growth” fueled by in-app subscription sign-ups.

In many emerging markets, users will have access to such services for the first time through their Apple devices, the report noted, adding that when Netflix recently allowed in-app sign-up for its service, it climbed the ranks of the highest grossing entertainment apps in more than 20 countries.

Joshua Martin, chief evangelist of apps research for Strategy Analytics, explained that “the ascent of Netflix to the top within days is a testament to the power of apps and iOS. Simply by enabling a feature Netflix found a new universe of users”.

“The stickiness of subscription services such as Netflix will see content owners sit atop the highest grossing entertainment apps and, in the long term, amongst the highest grossing apps overall globally,” he added.

Martin also said that “in-app purchase will still drive billions in revenue each year, but the growth of subscription and consolidation among key players is a key trend that will drive future growth for the App Store, Apple, and content owners”.

New devices such as Apple TV and the Apple Watch will account for a small percentage of downloads but will extend app capabilities.

Apple to debut new shopping vertical in the app store

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Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Apple breaks out e-commerce apps into its own category on the App Store.

Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Apple is adding a new category in its App Store that will allow people to find e-commerce apps more easily.

Apple iPhone and iPad users will now see a dedicated Shopping app in the list of categories of apps in the App Store. Previously, shopping apps were a segment of the lifestyle section of the store. With the shopping category, Apple  AAPL -0.24%  will now have 25 different categories of apps.

The channel will officially debut Nov. 5, in time for the holiday shopping season and China’s version of Black Friday—Singles Day, which takes place on Nov. 11.

Apple said that breaking out the channel made sense as the sector is popular among its users, especially as mobile shopping becomes more ubiquitous. The majority of global e-commerce traffic is increasingly coming from smartphones and tablets instead of from personal computers.

According to Yahoo-owned app analytics service Flurry, the use of mobile shopping apps grew at over 174% in 2014, which was faster than any other app category that year. And 54% of holiday shoppers said they plan to shop on their smartphones this season, reported a recent Google survey.

The apps that will be included in the new category will include e-commerce apps like Amazon  AMZN 0.73% and Walmart, auction and marketplace apps like eBay, coupon apps like Groupon, price comparison apps, and product review apps.

The new shopping category will also include apps that include the ability to pay for items using Apple’s mobile payments technology, Apple Pay. Launched in 2014, Apple Pay lets users upload credit and debit card information to a “mobile wallet.” They can then use their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for goods at retail stores in the U.S. and U.K. that have point-of-sale registers equipped with near field communication technology, known as NFC. Users can also use their accounts to pay for items within apps, if an app developer has Apple Pay integrated. Apps that include that ability to pay with Apple Pay include Target, Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon.

In the past year, Apple hasn’t revealed much in terms of how many people are using its payments service, but the company teased a few usage stats with Monday’s news. Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, says that thousands of apps have integrated the company’s mobile payments technology. (She also revealed that usage of Apple Pay by iOS users is growing month over month at double digit rates but declined to give exact numbers.) She adds that Apple saw additional usage growth after the release of new devices in September, including the iPhone 6S, that include the mobile wallet technology.

Bailey cited the success of food chain Panera Bread, which started accepting Apple Pay in stores and within its mobile app in 2014. Bailey said that 20% of all of Panera’s transactions from customers are now coming from Apple Pay.

For many app developers, integrating Apple Pay has encouraged users to spend more on mobile and online storefronts because it saves the time and effort for entering credit card and shipping information, says Bailey.

Alan Tisch, the CEO of mobile shopping app Spring, says that Apple Pay is helping more customers complete their checkout within the app. He explains that using Apple Pay to pay for items on Spring cuts first time checkout by over 50%. Also, he says that customers who use Apple Pay are more likely to checkout than those who are not. Spring also has integrated Google’s  GOOG -0.81%  similar technology, Android Pay, in its Android app but Tisch says it’s too early to share conversion rates.

App developers are also excited that Apple is finally showcasing shopping apps in a standalone section. Ryan McIntyre, a marketing head for JackThreads, a shopping app for menswear, says that many consumers find the app through searching the App Store. He expects the new category and promotion of shopping apps to help more customers discover JackThreads, especially as more people are looking to shop on their mobile phones during the holiday season.

Written by
Leena Rao, Fortune @leenarao

Bell Canada pays $1.25M penalty to settle app rating case

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Bell Canada has agreed to pay a $1.25-million penalty after the Competition Bureau learned that employees were downloading the company's free apps and providing them with stellar ratings

Bell Canada has agreed to pay a $1.25-million penalty after the Competition Bureau learned that employees were downloading the company’s free apps and providing them with stellar ratings

Bell Canada has agreed to pay a $1.25-million penalty after the Competition Bureau learned that employees of the telecommunications giant had been downloading the company’s free apps and providing them with stellar reviews without disclosing their relationship to the company.

In addition to paying the “administrative monetary penalty” or AMP, Bell Canada has agreed to “enhance and maintain its corporate compliance program, with a specific focus on prohibiting the rating, ranking or reviewing of apps in app stores by employees and contractors.”

Bell Canada will also sponsor a workshop that will examined “Canadians’ trust in the digital economy, including the integrity of online reviews,” according to the consent agreement registered with the Competition Tribunal released Wednesday.

“I am pleased that Bell Canada demonstrated leadership to fully resolve the Competition Bureau’s concerns in this matter,” said John Pecman, Commissioner of Competition. “I commend the shared compliance approach taken by Bell to resolve this matter, which will benefit both consumers and the digital marketplace.”

According to the Competition Bureau, in November 2014, Bell employees were encouraged to download two free apps, MyBell Mobile and Virgin My Account, from the Apple iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store. The apps allow Bell customers to control their accounts directly from their mobile devices. The employees were then encouraged to post positive reviews and ratings of the apps without disclosing that they work for Bell.

The Bureau said Bell had the reviews and ratings removed as soon as it became aware of the situation in December 2014. “Nevertheless, the Bureau determined that these reviews and ratings created the general impression that they were made by independent and impartial consumers and temporarily affected the overall star rating for the apps.”

Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP, a Toronto law firm that does a lot of work in Competition Law, reviewed the consent agreement — and gave it no stars.  “A 10-month investigation and a $1.25-million fine seems disproportionate to Bell’s conduct, which involved its employees posting reviews of account management applications that are given away for free, and are only useful to existing Bell customers. No one was duped into paying money for a product that didn’t perform as advertised. We rate this one zero stars.”

Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian PressBell

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