Today Apple announced they’re bringing their “revolutionary iAd network” to Europe. iAds will launch in December in the UK and France, Germany will follow in January. As for the partners, the rumors were correct: Apple managed to close deals with L’Orèal, Renault, Luis Vuitton, Nespresso and Perrier & Unilever.
iAds started to roll out internationally two weeks ago, and while the ads were visible to non-US users they weren’t target to specific audiences. For instance, I was able to see an AT&T iAd in Italy.
Press release follows below.
Apple’s iAd Coming to Europe in December
Revolutionary Mobile Advertising Network Will Launch in Europe with L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier & Unilever
CUPERTINO, California-November 18, 2010-Apple® today announced it will expand its revolutionary iAd℠ mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, with Germany to follow in January. iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio. Since its US launch in July, iAd has emerged as a powerful new way for advertisers to reach millions of iPhone® and iPod touch® users right in their favorite apps, while providing a significant new revenue stream for developers. iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 leading US national advertisers in just four months,* with a projected 21 percent share of US mobile display advertising revenue for 2010 according to research firm IDC.**
“We’re thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers,” said Andy Miller, Apple’s vice president of iAd. “In just four months, we’ve doubled the number of advertisers on the network and thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue.”
“As the world leader in the beauty business, L’Oréal aims to create the most meaningful connections between its brands and its customers, so iAd was a natural choice,” said Marc Menesguen, L’Oréal’s Head of strategic marketing. “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, hence our choice of Lancôme to lead our iAd campaign.”
iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes® content. With user engagement times averaging more than 60 seconds per visit, iAds combine the narrative quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new.
Advertisers can learn more at advertising.apple.com. Developers who join the iAd Network can easily incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Developers will receive an industry standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect. Developers can visit developer.apple.com/iad to join the iAd Network or to learn more about the iAd platform.
* Advertising Age “100 Leading National Advertisers” rankings for 2009 by spend, June 20, 2010. ** US mobile display advertising 2010 forecast, published by BusinessWeek.com, September 26, 2010.
