The iPad is officially in the hands of the consumer.
300,000 were sold opening day. By 2015, some forecasters say the e-tablet will be the primary screen with some 60 million users.
With the debut of the iPad, a new segment of digital media opportunities have emerged.
The advertising opportunities that we are seeing with the iPad aren’t entirely congruent with what we see on the web or on mobile. When determining how to re-purpose web and print material for the e-Tablet, you must consider how the user will consume the content.
The iPad is practically as portable as your phone, but the screen is bigger, much bigger. This seems like a simple distinction, but when we are talking about engaging consumers, it makes a world of difference.
The interaction with the iPad is more relaxed and leisurely than that of a PC. And since the screen is bigger, there isn’t the need to simplify the content like there is with mobile.
Publishers are still navigating their way through this new landscape but I love what we have seen thus far.
Yahoo’s strategy is grounded in product placement. For example, the Yahoo home screen resembles a living room, so when the users loads the page, the newest Twilight series and a can of Coca Cola may be laying on their coffee table.
Zinio, the number one downloaded iPad app, helps magazine publishers bring their content to life. The Sex and the City 2 ad is accompanied by the 30 second video trailer. And encouragingly for marketers, 70% of digital magazine readers are less likely to ignore display ads in digital editions than on websites. The same study found that people found ads in digital magazines to be less intrusive, easier to read, more authoritative, more fun and more useful.
And you need not to look any further than Apple, who will soon become an advertising network. Their new iAd platform will offer full screen, location based, interactive ads inside of apps. So advertisers will have the ability to serve a local car dealership video or present a coupon for the dry cleaner down the street.
One thing to remember is that with higher interactivity and engagement will likely come higher price tags. Paying for an ad in a digital magazine is more similar to the cost of a print ad than a display ad. That is a paradigm shift for digital media planners who are used to paying CPMs as low as four dollars. And Chase paid the New York Times $1 Million for an exclusive 3 to 6 month sponsorship of their iPad app.
I think of the click through rates on mobile ads that are routinely 1.5% and higher versus the measly .08% click through rate we often see with display ads and I can’t help but wonder how high we will see the click through rates for iPad ads skyrocket.
Will click through rates exceed 25%? I don’t see why not. After all, we have the ability to understand our audiences needs and preferences and to offer them something that is both useful and fun on a device that is large enough to truly engage with, yet small enough to get comfortable with!
In true Apple form, I think the iPad elevates the game for marketers.
If you want to see the iPad in action, check out their commercial on YouTube.com.
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