• by Mahi de Silva , Op-Ed Contributor, September 14, 2015

With this month’s release of iOS9, mobile advertisers and publishers are likely to be clicking on every article they can find about the new content-blocking APIs that allow app developers (Apple included) to create tools to remove or filter advertisements. It’s clear that the entire industry is wondering what the impact will be on their business.

But instead of focusing so much on “ad blocking” — which is not an insurmountable obstacle —  the mobile advertising industry should be looking at the ways that iOS9 creates better engagement opportunities for brands, not less. And perhaps more importantly, on a macro level, how it continues to push the mobile industry forward, in all the ways that in the long run are important to advertisers.

Here’s how: 

Multitasking for iPad pushes it closer to a desktop-replacement

For many people, a tablet is a “nice-to-have” — a device that supplements their mobile and online consumption habits, but does not replace their smartphone or desktop. However, with the introduction of multitasking for iPad, Apple is making its tablet more enticing to users that might be considering it as a desktop replacement —  or more likely, appeal to that wider swath of people who don’t really need a full-service computer to begin with, but who would make the move to buy a tablet because it has desktop-like features.

More tablet buyers means a higher volume of mobile users — and high-value ones at that. The iPad, with its high-resolution TV-like screen, is primed for video advertising, which has proven to bring deeper engagement metrics for advertisers, and which commands much higher revenue for publishers. In fact, our Q2 data shows that the iPad generates the highest revenue per impression of any device and platform combination, with a share of revenue that is over 4.4 times its share of impressions. 

Picture-in-Picture, a testament to the mobile video explosion

The iPad’s multitasking features “Slide Over” and “Split View” are joined by “Picture-in-Picture,” which is similar to the way television does it — you can minimize a video (or FaceTime call) to one corner of the iPad while you use other apps. 

At first, an advertiser might cringe at the way this encourages users to split their attention, to look away from a video ad that might be playing in that window. But Picture-in-Picture on an iPad simply allows for more video content to be viewed, not less. A minimized, or reduced, window is not a closed one — and Apple is allowing for broader adoption and more consumption of mobile video, which is already a boon for advertisers. 

Video ads on iPad now account for 24% of impressions and nearly 30% of the revenue generated from video advertising served to all iOS devices, and ad campaign results are often astounding. As Apple continues to support video viewing with these kinds of features, video ad campaigns on iPads will continue to be highly effective.

Deeper relevance through deep linking

Apple’s Universal Deep Linking will have the greatest impact on mobile search, since content within apps will be indexed and presented to users in the same way that Web site content is, thus allowing publishers to surface content that was otherwise buried, or invisible to users. However, what’s even more interesting is how Apple is now enabling apps to work together seamlessly, so that users can move back and forth between them, living entirely within the app ecosystem.

What does this mean for advertisers? Not only will mobile users become accustomed to easy purchase flows like the example here, but they will now be able to deliver far more relevant ads within the apps themselves, as the same indexed information about that content can thus serve to improve contextual targeting for an ad. 

Continued commitment to the mobile wallet (Apple Pay)

Though Apple’s mobile payment system has not flourished the way that it was hyped, adoption figures this summer were hovering in the 13-15% range. However, with iOS 9, users will be able to activate it instantly from the lock screen by double tapping the home button to launch, entering their fingerprint so its ready to go by the time they reach checkout. It is also launching in the U.K. and is gaining support for store credit cards and loyalty cards.

By taking the friction out of mobile payments, iOS9 is leaving the door wide open for brands to use the mobile phone not just as a top-of-funnel branding vehicle but as a complete solution for the entire path-to-purchase customer journey. 

Even more app usage = better ad experiences

Currently time spent on mobile apps are around 75% compared to 25% on a mobile browser. If the content-blocking add-ons really start to eat into publishers’ mobile browser traffic monetization, there will be a stronger push of mobile web users to the publisher’s app. Advertising inside apps tend to be much more sophisticated and provide for much better measurement and attribution, particularly for performance-based ads. In addition to the quality of the user experience of an in-app rich-media or video ad, publishers see much better monetization in their apps — approximately 50% better than the same ad campaign served on the mobile Web.