Apple’s ad business borrows a page from Facebook

“Apple’s advertising business is growing up, and the company best known for consumer electronics is borrowing a page from Facebook in how it caters to marketers,” George P. Slefo writes for AdAge. “On Thursday, Apple Search Ads updated its partner page to include Bidalgo as its second campaign management partner. Apple Search Ads appear at the very top of a user’s app search results; someone who searches for the Uber app, for example, might see an ad for the Lyft app.”
“Companies such as Bidalgo assist advertisers in managing search ad campaigns through Apple’s app store,” Slefo writes. “Placing Bidalgo on its partner page is similar to receiving a stamp of approval from Apple, essentially saying it’s a qualified and knowledgeable vendor for buying search ads through automation.”
“The news is significant as Apple previously only had mobile measurement partners on its page, which provide tools to measure, analyze and optimize app install campaigns. Coupling mobile measurement partners with campaign management partners is a spitting image of Facebook’s own program, Facebook Marketing Partners, more commonly known as FMP.,” Slefo writes. “John Koetsier, VP of insights at Singular, a mobile measurement company… [says] the recent inclusion of campaign management partners to Apple’s partner page is ‘both a sign of increased maturity in Apple Search Ads as well as an indicator that Apple Search Ads is increasingly important to Apple.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: As Koetsier notes in the full article, advertisers can target via location, time of day, search keyword(s), installed app types, and/or previous in-app purchases. Unlike Facebook, Apple uses differential privacy, so advertisers are targeting groups, not individual users.