According to Principal Analyst Andrew Lipsman, Apple will likely be an influential advertising company for the coming decade, especially in the USA. However, the point to ponder is how it’s going to happen. 

Last year, Apple made ATT (App Tracking Transparency) changes in the tracking behavior of the apps to show its users how tracking works. It also gave power and control to its users to stop tracking to ensure that they don’t get pissed off by getting stalked.

Here are a few key points mentioned that need to be discussed:

• As a result of ATT changes, many users opted out of tracking, further leading to significant losses. It affected e-commerce behavior and web browsing negatively. Lipsman explained that after the tracking dynamics changed, so did the ad targeting of Meta.
• Apple affected Meta’s ad and app installs business through its latest strategy. Since Meta pays the app providers to track the user data and target the right audience to increase the app downloads, the changes pushed the advertising away from Meta. In this regard, the overall advantage shifted toward Apple. So, Apple didn’t only affect Meta’s business negatively but also took a huge bite out of it.  
• The changes disrupt the app install business of Meta and give advertisers a hard time by preventing them from targeting their audience and reaching out to them to sell their products and services. So, ad returns are also reduced. Now, advertisers are shifting their ad spend budgets to other channels, which provide a better ROI.

Lipsman raised another vital point: Apple has not only affected the ability of other advertisers and businesses to target their audiences but alsol the iPhone operating system became more transparent for Apple to provide the measurement, which then also drives more ad dollars for Apple in the end.

Here are a few more key points to enlighten users:

• Measurement is the only factor in advertising that helps different businesses improve the growth level of their digital ad spending. It is something that all the bigger platforms like Google, Facebook, and even Amazon take into account to search ads and grow their businesses.
• Now, Apple has a monopoly in the advertising business. It has its hands on the backbone of the iPhone operating system, that is, measurement. It knows everything its users want, look for, or buy. However, Apple’s policies rely entirely on privacy, so it might not be able to take advantage of it like other companies. It has taken a different approach that requires audience division on a broader level. It would need a forbidding system to prove its performance with more operation data and information.

Apple’s Strategyto Be the Most Impactful Advertising Player in 2023

Apple has started investing its ad spend in streaming TV, one of the most vital digital advertising areas.

According to Lipsman, Apple got the rights to TV Sports like Major League Soccer Games and Major League Baseball. Thus, it will obtain major TV sports soon. Moreover, it has achieved a lot this year through several mega-hit series. It has won an Academy Award as well for Best Pictures with CODA. It could potentially have an ad-supported model for Apple TV+.

Stats

If you look at the Apple TV+ viewers from 2022–2026, you will see an increasing change in the population percentage. It was only 11.5% in 2022 and increased to 12.4% in 2023. In 2024, Apple TV+ viewers are expected to rise, and the rate will reach 12.9%. In 2025, it is expected to reach 13.3% and 13.8% in 2026.

Lipsman has another prediction for Apple regarding launching its search engine. It would affect Google Chrome drastically as it will conveniently replace it as the default search engine.

Here are a few key points that can further elaborate on this fact:

• Google Chrome is in a vulnerable state. We can’t deny that the quality of search results on Google has been deteriorating. Users now see more ads than high-quality and organic results while browsing.  
• If Apple can eliminate the quality hurdle to give more organic results with less ad load, it can easily replace Google.   

Stats

Let’s look at the stats of Apple ad revenues to get more clarity.

The percentage change in the ad revenues of Apple increased to 40.1% in 2021. In 2022, the percentage change showed a decline and reached 39.2%. In 2023, it has further reduced to 26.3%, while in 2024, it is expected to show a further decrease in the percentage change by reaching 19.8%.

Wrapping Up

The stats and facts show how Apple is winning as an advertising player. It might be challenging for Apple to improve its performance while implementing the changes worldwide. However, it has already taken a huge leap. It’s quite a long way to go, but it’s safe to say that it will be an impactful player in the advertising business in 2024.