Apple Considers Launching an Ad Exchange?

Apple is considering the launch of an ad exchange similar to what Facebook and Twitter have done, reports BusinessInsider.

That's the rumor. We heard it from an executive who is one of the biggest players in online advertising. We can't confirm it. And, of course, the ad business is awash with rumors. (And, to give the full context, a couple of other sources we talked to said they'd heard nothing of the kind.)

The site notes that people in the business are expecting Apple to launch an exchange, possibly inside iAd. Presumably, it would let advertisers target Apple users across websites and apps on various devices such as the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, etc.


Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company's advertising business is not "large enough to be core" area for the company; rather, it got into the business to help developers make money.

“We got into mobile advertising because we want developers to make money…It wasn't about Apple making money,” said Cook.

However, Apple recently hired Todd Teresi, former VP of Media Solutions at Adobe, to run iAd. Teresi is said to be one of the "best qualified guys" to run an ad exchange.

Dan Grigorovici, CEO at AdMobius, tells AdExchanger that Apple could have a "tremendous" exchange if it had the desire to built it.


“Apple owns the device, the app ecosystem, the ad SDK, the transactional system (iTunes, etc.), multiple media channels (online, TV - albeit that's small today, smartphones, tablets), multiple content categories (music, movies, etc.),” Grigorovici commented. “From that standpoint, I had always believed that if Apple plans to evolve the ad business to be more important, they have probably the best opportunity for cross-channel advertising, and one of the best data assets out there.”

Grigorovici says Apple is being held back by “the [low] fill rate and the advertiser demand for cross-OS scalable solutions…[unless Apple becomes] more interested in collaborating with and mediating competing ad businesses in the ecosystem, in order to fulfill advertiser's needs. So there is a dilemma here: Apple’s closed ad ecosystem offers tremendous benefits and differentiation, but it fundamentally does not solve the scale problem.”

More details at the link below...

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