iPhone users to see adverts inside apps
iPhone users in the UK will soon find adverts inside apps they download as Apple rolls out its iAds platform outside the US.
The platform allows application developers – and Apple itself – to make money from advertising contained within apps.
It is set to launch in the UK and France in December after attracting a host of big money advertisers in the US.
European launch partners will include L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton and Absolute Radio.
Apple describes the technology as a “powerful new way for advertisers to reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch users.”
The launch of iAds heralded the start of a major advertising war between Apple and Google. At the launch of the iPhone 4, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs claimed iAds would help Apple to control 48 per cent of the mobile advertising market by the end of 2010 – a clear swipe at Google’s dominance.
The emergence of iAds has provided Apple with a lucrative new revenue stream. An estimated 5bn apps have now been downloaded through the App Store, with Apple pocketing a third of the cover price. Now it will also be able to cream off a premium from ads.
iAds, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an the advertisement.
Apple says the platform aims to “combine the narrative quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new”.
Marc Menesguen, L’Oréal’s Head of marketing said: “We’re thrilled by the quality, the interactivity and the depth of iAd’s user experience, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to reach and serve the most engaged and discerning customers at the digital forefront of beauty.”