Apple confirms its iAd exit
Apple has confirmed it is to exit the advertising business with App Store developers (or publishers) confirming reports circualted earlier this week in what amounts to a rare admission of fallibility from the tech and media behemoth.
In a blog post dated 15 January entitled "iAd App Network will be Discontinued" Apple confirmed it will no longer be accepting new publishers on to the network as of the end of JUne htis year, bringing to an end Apple's six-year bid to firmly entrench itself in the advertising game.
"Although we are no longer accepting new apps into the network, advertising campaigns may continue to run and you can still earn advertising revenue until June 30," reads the post.
"If you’d like to continue promoting your apps through iAd until then, you can create a campaign using iAd Workbench."
Earlier this week it had been reported that Apple was to relinquish its control of the iAd platform with claims the move was being taken to allow publishers to more directly handle the management of advertising within their own apps.
When Apple launched iAd in 2010 it promised slick interactive advertising slots within apps to both developers and advertisers alike, but Apple’s tight management of the platform kept publishers at bay, plus it received an equally lukewarm reception from advertisers.
At the heart of both the buy- and sell-side's problem was the 30 per cent cut of total advertising fees that Apple insisted upon taking for any iAd campaign booked, which vastly inflated fees in the (still nascent) mobile advertising game.
Instead, Apple will usher in a self-service platform that would allow publishers to keep 100 per cent of their revenue opening the way for ad tech firms such as Google, Rubicon Project, etc. to facilitate ad buying on the platform.