Following stories that Apple was
getting out of the ad business, the company has officially confirmed that the iAd App Network will
cease operations as of June 30 -- though SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue has said that Apple is
developing a self-service ad-buying tool for publishers that should launch within the next two months. The iPhone maker is said to be offering buyouts to iAd sales teams, and is no longer accepting apps into the network, nor taking its 30 percent cut on ad revenue.
While iAd was generally in third place among the top app-advertising services, it paled far behind Google. It was initially positioned as a premium ad service for big-money campaigns, and ads had to meet strict Apple quality guidelines and other restrictions (such as no animations). When potential advertisers rebelled, the company began lowering standards, improving analytic detail, and easing restrictions to better compete with other in-app ad generators.
The iAd service has been in business for six years, but the company reportedly came the conclusion that "it's just not something (Apple is) good at," and that such advertising -- dominated by Facebook and Google with their data-mining approach to using ads and services to discover more about users -- conflicts with the company's privacy ideals. Clients of iAd that have existing campaigns will continue until June 30, and the iAd Workbench creation app now only supports currently-active campaigns.
The new tool will be available for creators, developers, and advertisers to create and manage their own campaigns without the Apple middleman, and could be "great for publishers," according to one industry source. ""It gives them direct dialogue with their customers ... Access will be more plentiful and easier to manage -- theoretically." Apple's share in mobile advertising was around five percent, compared to Google's 9.5 percent. Facebook currently commands about 38 percent of that market.
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