The iPad is becoming ad industry’s darling

iPads

Here’s one of those news stories that only confirm what we already suspected: Advertisers are in love with the iPad. Not only is the iPad preferred over its Android equivalents, but also the iPhone.

Users of the iPad are more liable to click on an ad than ads displayed on a smartphone or rival tablet, according to new industry research.

According to mobile ad company MoPub, advertisers prefer tablets over smartphones. The preference is because ads for tablets require little changes to move from the desktop or laptop. However, Madison Ave. has an especially soft spot for the iPad, which attracts consumers even more than the iPhone. In addition, ads on the iPad bring advertisers more revenue than those shown to Android tablet owners…

There are two major metrics which advertisers and publishers focus on: an ad’s Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and the effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM). In both instances – the percent of ad clicks and how much ads pay – the iPad wins by a mile (via TechCrunch).

According to MoPub’s study of some 90 billion ad views during the holiday period,  the iPad had a 1.7 percent CTR (Dec. 1-15) and a 2.2 percent CTR between January 1-7.

During the same period, ads on the iPad had a high eCPM of $1.40.

By comparison, the iPhone’s CTR  rose from 1.2 percent to 1.5 percent during the same Christmas to New Year’s period.

Android?

Android smartphones had a high CTR of 1.1 percent, according to the firm’s data.

Though there is a smaller installed based of iPads than smartphones, advertisers appear more willing to pay top price to appear on the Apple tablet. For example, advertisers were willing to pay between $0.94 and $1.40 for every 1,000 appearance on the iPad.

That compares with $0.62 to $1.04 for the iPhone.

Android devices were at the bottom of the advertising barrel. Advertisers paid $0.59 to $0.99 to appear on Android tablets during the holidays. Holiday ad rates for Android smartphones were even worse: $0.52 to $0.80.

If there is a high demand by advertisers for the iPad and there are fewer iPads than smartphones, we should see greater competition to appear on the Apple tablet. Indeed, MoPub gave the iPad a score of 5.3 during the fourth quarter. That compares with 5 for the iPhone.

MoPub (cost per thousand ad impressions across mobile devices)

The numbers are an index of the competition to get an ad slot on the platforms. One explanation for the preference for the iPad by advertisers came from MoPub’s CEO, Jim Payne.

“It’s because the Android user is much less monetizable in terms of virtual goods [digital music, apps, etc.], so the advertisers aren’t willing to pay nearly as much for them,” Payne told TechCrunch.

iPad mini promo video (iPad mini users 001)

An even better reason was proposed by TechCrunch’s Josh Constine: tablet users – and particularly iPad owners – are more laid-back and receptive to ads than smartphone users.

While we surely use our phones while laying in bed or stuck in transit, most of the time we’re bustling through the real world trying to get information to accomplish the task at hand.

But iPad owners?

We’re more often relaxed, at rest, or in a mood to discover something.

Another comparison between smartphone and tablet usage could be ads we hear on the car radio and television.

iPad 3 promo video (wireless and cellular networking)

In the car, we behave more like smartphone users, concentrating on our destination. This is why we hear short bursts of information and lively jingles, rather than complex product descriptions.

Television ads, by comparison, usually reach us when we are relaxed or at least with more ability to focus on the product.

This is why TV ads shift from easily-remembered jingles to more aspirational advertising, comparing your life to your car, or suggesting one brand of shampoo will attract more members of the opposite sex. In this way, tablets are the modern television – likely why TV advertisers are so quickly adopting the iPad.