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Apple reportedly cutting iAd pricing again as Google continues its mobile ad dominance

Apple reportedly cutting iAd pricing again as Google continues its mobile ad dominance

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Apple will reportedly be cutting the minimum pricing for its iAd program yet again, an indicator of the initiative's continued struggles in the advertising marketplace.

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Apple iAd for iPad 640
Apple iAd for iPad 640

Apple's mobile advertising platform iAd launched to much fanfare in 2010, promising a high-end advertising experience for users with high-end prices for advertisers to match. Apple reduced the cost of entry last year as the initiative stalled out, and according to AdAge, it's about to do it again. The minimum ad buy will reportedly be dropping to $100,000, down from the reduced price of $400,000 put into effect last year, and a mere 10 percent of the $1 million minimum mandated at iAd's launch. Apple is also said to be dropping its insistence on charging advertisers simultaneously for both thousands of ad impressions served and discrete ad clicks (advertisers are typically charged for either one or the other).

In what appears to be an indication that Apple realizes it has a problem with developer adoption as well, AdAge reports that the company will be bumping developers' share of ad revenue to 70 percent, up from the 60 percent originally offered. It's a two-pronged attack that comes after Apple's share of the mobile display ad market dropped to 15 percent in 2011, according to IDC, with Google grabbing 24 percent. While Apple's integrated ecosystem has served it well with media, music, and app sales, the same doesn't seem to be the case in advertising — and with Google's soaring smartphone marketshare stealing some of its leverage, Cupertino may need to play by the industry's rules instead of the other way around.