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Charlie Faulkner of Manage.com: what Apple’s iOS 8 and iPhone 6 mean for advertisers

After weeks of Apple aficionados and the iCommentariat everywhere feverishly speculating about what the iPhone 6 will mean for consumers, the new handset has finally been unveiled to the world. Announced alongside the new Apple Watch and Apple Pay payments system. There is also the newish iOS 8 operating system for all Apple gadgets (below).

The benefits for consumers are relatively straightforward, but what do these innovations mean for mobile advertisers?

Entering the world of mobile:

Mobile advertising is fast becoming one of the most important channels for marketers. According to a report published by eMarketer earlier this year, mobile ad spend is expected to grow by 96 per cent this year to £2.2bn in the UK. Programmatic and native advertising are leading the way in terms of giving marketers the tools they need to effectively reach this always-on audience in a highly-targeted manner. With the announcement of these new product launches, we will undoubtedly see this spend further increase as advertisers are driven further into the world of mobile.

Bigger Screens

As consumer demands for engaging content increase, so do their potential frustrations with irrelevant and uninspiring advertising content. By offering the biggest iPhone screens to date, Apple is giving advertisers the space they need to innovate. Increasing numbers of consumers are watching video footage on their mobiles. Bigger screens give advertisers more room for creativity and we will undoubtedly see more brands looking to integrate tools such as native advertising to produce visually spectacular content as a way to engage with mobile users.

Increased speed and functionality

The phone will feature the new Apple A8 processor, which has been revealed to be 25 per cent faster than the iPhone 5s model and a spectacular 50 per cent improvement in graphics performance. These developments will enable advertisers to get in front of consumers in a way that is far more intuitive and convenient to them. With numerous research projects highlighting that iOs8 consumers spend more than Android users, these updates are only likely to further underline and enhance this result.

Marketing becomes wearable

The introduction of the Apple Watch has signified Apple’s intention to mark their ground in the advancement of wearable technology. With 50 million wearable technology devices set to be sold this year, Forrester Research has reported that this will grow to an astounding 180m by 2018. This is a market that advertisers need to keep a close eye on as consumers become ever more connected to their devices and brands need to play catch-up to take advantage of this. Combine this always-on consumer with the power of geo-located mobile advertising and advertisers have a powerful opportunity to influence consumer behavior by offering real-time targeted offers/couponing.

How can advertisers take advantage?

These new developments will amplify the speed at which mobile ad technologies are increasing in sophistication. It is clear that apps are very much part of the iOs8 ethos and therefore new native ad formats which are dynamic and unobtrusive will increase consumer uptake. Advertisers will therefore be able to take advantage of new and engaging ad formats. As an example, Manage.com has introduced unique mobile video ad units which have been proven to generate an 85 per cent higher click through per thousand impressions. This contributed to a growth in spending on Rich Media of 36 per cent last year, compared to only 8 per cent for image ads.

Advertisers have more opportunity than ever before to not only gain in-depth insights into their audience, but also reach them on a platform that allows them to produce rich, creative and targeted advertising. Apple has given advertisers the stage, now it’s up to them to perform.

unnamed-2Charlie Faulkner is business director EMEA and APAC of mobile marketing company Manage.com.

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