Commentary & Opinion: Apple Acquires Quattro Wireless

With the news of Apple’s acquisition of mobile advertising network Quattro Wireless a few hours ago we took some time to get the opinion of some of Canada’s leading mobile marketing players. We asked them a series of questions on the acquisition by Apple and the impact on the future of the advertising industry.

Jonathan Dunn – Manager, Mobile Marketing Solutions, Digital Cement

Is this good or bad for the online advertising industry? Generally it should be good as you’d expect media heavy weights to invest in the networks. As both Google and Apple have their own mobile operating systems and application ecosystems, it’s pretty clear that they want to create a seamless flow from ad to app and make it as easy as possible for brands to buy more inventory. The main areas where I see promising developments are in the integration of ad units with phone features, more compelling rich media units and better analytics. Of course, the immediate benefit is the heightened visibility of mobile advertising among the general marketing community. Nothing these two companies does goes unnoticed.
What impact will this have on the Apple iPhone ecosystem? The most likely impact will be on the opportunities for developers to easily monetize their apps with display inventory. I’d be a bit concerned about Apple putting Quattro in iPhone only lockdown mode and saying that if you want to advertise on an app you have to use their network but that seems a limiting strategy. It all may come down to how relations between Google and Apple evolve. Currently, it’s a pretty heated rivalry.
What impact will this have on the advertising industry? On the Canadian advertising industry? On the ad industry as a whole, we should see more ad dollars drift away from traditional media and into digital mobile (but that’s not a particularly new or bold prediction as just about every research firm has been projecting exponential growth in the space for the past couple years). For Canada, I’d hope that it will go some way to diluting risk aversion leading to more brands piloting more mobile advertising programs. Google and Apple are trusted and familiar media entities. It’s something similar to everyone and their brother pushing out an iPhone app regardless of whether it’s the right thing to do. There’s an inherent sexiness associated with these companies and these acquisitions could underscore the viability of the channel.

(Jonathan is also a contributor to Profectio)

Phil Barrett, VP Digital & Mobile, BSTREET

Is this good or bad for the online advertising industry?
This is good in the sense that it will help solidify & scale the mobile channel. Mobile will become a bigger part of an overall digital media buy.
What impact will this have on the Apple iPhone ecosystem?
This is a logical step for Apple as they can refine & integrate with all their platforms – such as next generation ipods and tablets. This also allows Apple to extend their income reach on the App store (i.e. On free apps that have AdMob integration) and in some cases allow them to double dip. It shouldn’t impact a developer’s ability to make money, it just means there are fewer people to share the revenue with.
What impact will this have on the advertising industry? On the Canadian advertising industry?
This will have no short term impact on the Ad industry
Any other thoughts/ comments
The arms race between Google, Apple and Nokia has begun!

Kamar Shah, Managing Director, Vortex Mobile

Is this good or bad for the online advertising industry?
The online advertising industry is evolving on to new channels – specifically Mobile – Mobile is an engaging and interactive platform that requires experts that understand the platform and therefore can deliver the correct application for that channel – Admob was the best and Google took them – So Apple is making a great move, to enhance its platform and offering to its consumers.
What impact will this have on the Apple iPhone ecosystem?
This is a great addition to the Apple ecosystem – adding additional opportunities for our brands and clients to engage their products directly with the consumers. We work with clients and brands that have multiple offerings across different segmentations and when we build engaging applications there is great opportunity to cross promote using Quattros Wireless platforms.
What impact will this have on the advertising industry? On the Canadian advertising industry?
We are at a pivotal point within the advertising industry – where replicating traditional methods on to the mobile medium is not successful, because consumers are engaging on the mobile platform completely differently

Our expertise at Vortex is in developing specific products that achieve brand objectives on the platform required.

For a example Vortex’s User Generated Content application (executed for McDonalds and Ontario Tourism ) on Facebook utilizes the social media platform to its full advantage in Building Fans and Enagaging Fans.

We also have seen great success for our clients Scotiabank and VW when developing Mobile ATM locators and Mobile Diesel locators, utilizing the mobile platform selling point of GPS – always with you and always on.

So in answer to the question – this is an evolution of the advertising industry where traditional methods do not work and experts are needed to deliver meaningful relationships between brands and its consumers. Advertising is changing and evolving as consumers embrace and engage across different platforms.