Apple is slated to announce the first brands to use iAds in Europe this week, six months after iAds was originally announced.
The iPhone and iPad maker has already delayed iAds’ European launch twice in recent weeks. Speculation has the cause of these delays rooted in trouble getting big-name advertisers on board.
When iAds launched in the US, it boasted $60 million in commitments from the likes of Nissan, Unilever and others. European launch partners may include the likes of L’Oréal, Nestlé and Renault. The early adopters are expected to run campaigns on the iPhone and iPod Touch as early as December, while the majority of campaigns are expected to begin next year.
iAds is Apple’s mobile advertising platform that is designed to serve interactive, high-quality ads within iPhone apps as well as those on the iPod and iPad.
When iAds launched, Apple CEO Steve Jobs claimed to have garnered half the mobile display ad spending in the US. Since that launch the landscape has changed dramatically with the explosive growth of Android, Google’s mobile operating system.
According to analysts at IDC, iAds should bring in $105 million for Apple in 2010, while Google will take $400 million in search and display mobile advertising.
On the European stage, mobileSQUARED has the combined might of the five largest mobile markets in Europe – UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – generating €88 million in mobile ad spend.
This number is still far behind the US and Japan, though. The latter is expected to spend $1 billion on mobile marketing this year, while US is likely to exceed $800 million.
