Apple to “Power Down” Quattro Mobile Advertising Network

In a move expected by many and feared by Nomophobians, Apple announced that it is going to “power down” the Quattro mobile advertising network - a three-year old operation Apple acquired this past January. The Quattro mobile advertising team was critical to the development of iAd, the mobile advertising network Apple launched on July 1st for iPhone and iPod touch apps.

This move means that the smart and savvy folks at Quattro – who now work for Apple – can focus solely on the iAd Network and are no longer taking on campaigns as the entity “Quattro”. They will be wrapping up their existing accounts and, as of September 30th, will exclusively support the iAd Network.

About Quattro

Waltham, MA-based Quattro Wireless was founded by alumni of Boston-based mobile marketing company M-Qube, and specialized in helping big brands create mobile-friendly versions of their websites. As they launched mobiles for Univision TV network and other big brands, Quattro began brokering advertisements for these sites and creating a bidding process for placement. Quattro’s sites and ads ran on all mobile browsers, so it was natural decision for Apple, after acquiring them, to power down Quattro’s non-exclusive campaigns.

Apple’s iAd Network

The Apple iAd Network was announced in April as one of the many features for the iPhone 4.0, allowing developers to insert interactive, HTML5-based ads into apps for the iPhone and iPod touch.


The process sounds simple enough. The advertiser, being you, would send your content to Apple, who would assemble the ads. Apple would keep 40% of the revenue and pass on the remaining 60% to the ad developers. These campaigns are initially aimed to keep iPhone and iPod users spending far more time engaging with the ads than they would with traditional mobile banner ads, comparable more to television commercials than the current online ads. Here is the actual description on www.quattrowireless.com:

Since the launch of iAd, Apple has been administering the creative control of ad making very conservatively, resulting in a slower than desired productive cycle. According to the Wall Street Journal, since the launch of the new service on July 1st, only five of the 17 announced launch partners (Unilever, Nissan, Walt Disney, Citigroup, and J.C. Penney) have seen their ads appear in mobile apps. However, some of the early adopters of the service, such as Nissan, have reported a high rate of click throughs.

Apple’s iAd Network is expected to be worth more than $1.56 billion by 2013, according to eMarketer.

Click here to learn more about iAd.

Are You Ready for Mobile Advertising?

Is your advertising ready to go mobile? According to the PEW Research Center, 6 out of 10 American adults go online wirelessly from a mobile device. In today’s wireless world, mobile advertising is now essential to the foundation of any successful marketing campaign.

Quattro’s exclusive move to the iAd Network and the success of early campaigns are paving the way for you to launch your own effective mobile advertising campaign. Next time you’re in a marketing meeting, ask yourself and your marketing team the simple question: when are you going to go mobile?

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