Apple vs Google: the Battle of Advertising Strategies

With Apple launching its iAds service in September, and Google looking to improve upon its “mobile-first” approach, the ensuing competition between the two largest mobile advertising network owners will be an intriguing one. 

The iAds offering by Apple consists of adverts being run within applications, with the aim of combining “the emotion of video with the interactivity of the web”, according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Already, Apple have sold approximately $60 million worth of iAds to companies such as Disney and Unilever.

This figure represents a potentially major chunk of the market share; in 2009 in the USA, mobile online display revenue equalled $250 million.

Both Apple and Google have already been involved in the process of selling adverts to advertisers directly. The difference with iAds however, is their specificity to various iPhone and iPad communities. By analysing the buying history of its 150 million iTunes members who also own iPhones and iPads, Apple has been able to determine user trends and preferences. 

Google's progress is following a different path, with the emphasis placed on lead generation rather than branding. Director of mobile ad sales for EMEA, Ian Carrington, explains that Google ads will offer comprehensive yet relevant information through an understanding of the context within which the ad is being viewed.

Carrington offers a scenario in which a user is reading a book review. Google's advertising strategy will allow for the book to be identified, with subsequent information given with regards to the pricing and location of the text in question. This will be achievable using the GPS technology inherent in most smart-phones.

Both Apple and Google can be seen here to be pursuing a more personalised, user-specific avenue of advertising, by offering well-researched, and contextually appropriate advertisements,

Despite the varying approaches to advertising, one aspect which unites both firms, is their common desire to retain relatively sizeable proportions of the ad revenue they generate. Both Google and Apple will be satisfied with between 50 and 60% of revenue, which would be invested back into the work of developers and publishers.

While Apple has the upper hand in terms of their mobile technology expertise, Google is the master of online advertising. As such, it is difficult to know who will come out on top. One can be sure however, that neither of the two will want to concede their stake in a medium which has become, in the words of Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, “fundamental to everything we do”.