This week Apple loosened its grip on developers by publishing detailed guidelines for its decision-making process. It was a surprise move for the company, whose developer program license agreement has kept a tight grip on third parties.
The reason for the change, it is widely assumed, is that Apple is becoming more worried about the growing popularity of the Android platform and wants to keep developers in is corner. Certainly it has ample reason: Gartner recently reported that in Q2 the platform overtook Apple's iPhone OS to become the third-most-popular OS in the world. In the U.S, it also overtook RIM's OS to become the No. 1 smartphone OS in this region. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said the company is activating 200,000 Android phones a day. Advertisers are taking note of statistics closer to their own interests. For instance, Android impressions have grown by 45% in the last three months, according to MobClix's latest statistics. In another study, Chitika looked at ad click rates across its network, comparing both iPhone and Android. It concluded that Android users are far more valuable than iPhone users as they clicked on ads 81% more often.
What Does This Mean for Marketers?
The most immediate impact Apple's new agreement will have is on third party ad networks such as Google's Mobile AdSense and AdMob. Earlier this summer - shortly after the AdMob acquisition was finally approved - Apple infuriated Google by announcing it would not allow these ads on its platform. The specter of government scrutiny caused Apple to back off informally, and now it appears to have waved the white flag - at least that is Google's interpretation. In a blog post, Omar Hamoui, Google’s Vice President of Product Management, writes that the new terms give Apple’s developers a choice of advertising solutions. "The new terms provide immediate clarification about the status of mobile advertising on the iPhone," he said.
Dropping Costs?
Unfortunately, the biggest challenge facing marketers is not addressed by this concession. And that is the need to develop separately for the two platforms. "As a brand you want standard reporting on mobile ads served, not to have additional costs by developing for two platforms," says Nigel Gwilliam, IPA digital consultant. (via New Media Age). In fact the increased polarization could eventually benefit Google if it forces advertisers to focus on mobile web activity in response, suggested Simon Davis, head of mobile at mobile agency Addictive. "With the number of Android users going through the roof, you can expect to see a boom in the mobile web market," he told NMA.
