Advertisers, developers say Apple's iAd blows away competing ads

Users who viewed Nissan's Leaf electric car Apple iAd spent 90 seconds with the interactive advertisement — ten times longer than customers will spend with a traditional ad.

Based on those figures, Nissan has been very happy with the initial performance of Apple's iAd network, launched in July. The car maker spoke with the Los Angeles Times and revealed that people are five times more likely to click their interactive advertisement than they are a traditional online display ad.

"We feel pretty strongly that this is the way to capitalize on where the mobile Web is heading," Chad Jacoby, senior manager of Nissan's media operations, reportedly said. "What iAd promises is the most aggressive thing I've seen to date."

Unilever, maker of Dove shower products, said its initial advertisement proved to be successful, with 20 percent of viewers checking the ad multiple times, and a percentage in the double digits seeking further information about the product. Unilever now plans to launch a second iAd for another product line it owns, Klondike.

Following the success of initial advertisers, more companies are set to join the fray, with Campbell Soup, DirecTV, General Electric and Sears said to be working on their own iAds. Those companies will help Apple to take up more than half of the mobile advertising market in 2010, as the company has secured more than $60 million over the next six months.

Developers, too, have found success with the new iAd platform. Dictionary.com told the Times that the amount it charges for ad space in its mobile advertisement increased 177 percent since Apple launched iAds. In addition, CBS Mobile has seen up to $25 CPM (an advertising term that means cost per thousand) in its applications for CBS Sports, CNet and GameSpot.

iAds aim to provide richly interactive ad experiences inside developers' apps, providing them a 60 percent cut of the advertising revenue. The hope is the advertisements — noted by the iAd logo in the corner — will be more compelling to users, because they don't have to leave their app and launch a browser to view them.

iAd advertisements act more like full-blown applications, complete with features like videos, interactive games, and the ability to find information such as local stores or product availability.

Apple plans to use iAd as a program to incentivize App Store development, and does not expect to turn a great profit from its new advertising business, made possible due to the purchase of Quattro Wireless for $275 million.