Promoting a new iPhone app just got a little bit easier, with Apple’s announcement that iPhone application developers are now able to promote their software inside of other apps. The program, iAd for Developers, lets app developers purchase iAd inventory to promote their apps.
The site provides information for iPhone developers to join the iAd Network, which “provides an intuitive environment for you to monitor ad revenue, key metrics and ad performance from iAd rich media ads and iAd for Developers that are served from your applications.”
Apple tells developers that the iPhone SDK 4 enables them to prepare their apps for iAd and offers information on how to configure the application to “offer iAd, utilize screen real estate and test your application to ensure a compelling user experience with advertising.” The site enables developers to download iAd JS, which “provides you with the foundation to design and create iAd rich media ads that incorporate audio, video, graphics and animation” from the iPhone Dev Center.
This move comes on the heels of Apple’s recent introduction of iAd on July 1, when the company announced brand partners Nissan, Unilever NV, JC Penney, Best Buy and AT&T, each of which are spending a minimum of $1 million to more than $10 million for exclusivity within their industry vertical. Apple is charging $10 per thousand impressions for each iAd banner as well as a cost-per-click fee of $2.
In contrast, according to Business Insider, Apple plans to initially charge app developers 25 cents per click. Developers can exclude ads from competitors or others based on keywords, URLs and Apple iDs. Apple says that with iAd for Developers, users can download apps from the App Store without leaving the app they’re in. It’s also a clever way to encourage more purchases of apps, because users don’t need to go to the App Store but can download through a click on the ad.
With an estimated 300,000 apps in the U.S. iPhone App Store, discoverability has a major issue for developers, and iAd is Apple’s solution for supporting its developer community and creating another layer of advertisers for the iPhone advertising platform. Crosspromotion of related apps is also a natural direction for developers of related or relevant apps. Members of the iAd for Developers program can monitor key metrics and revenue earned from ads that are served from within their applications.
