With more developers and businesses taking advantage of Bluetooth beacons for advertising to nearby iPhone users, many consumers have concerns that the experience could be intrusive from an end user’s perspective. Apple Watch, scheduled for release later this year, could potentially add to that problem if Apple decides to allow iOS apps sending info to the smartwatch to also send advertising as we come in contact with beacons. It hasn’t yet, however, provided public details about what it plans for advertising on the device.
Despite the fact that there aren’t specific references to advertising in Apple’s guidelines for app developers building features for Apple Watch, a couple companies have already announced plans to deliver ads to the device. But do they know something we don’t? Or has Apple not yet made up its mind regarding what it plans for advertising policies on the Watch ahead of a launch expected in the next couple of months?
Sources at large advertising companies tell us Apple is being very cooperative, but that the company hasn’t relayed anything in the form of final guidelines.
Others don’t seem to be too confident that Apple will allow traditional advertising on Apple Watch. InMarket, a beacon network and advertising service deployed across supermarkets and retailers in the US, this weekend announced plans for Apple Watch, but those plans curiously don’t include any advertising. While reports covering the announcement misinterpreted the news as inMarket pushing advertising via its beacon network and partner iOS apps to Apple Watch, we’ve confirmed with the company that isn’t the case.
Instead, inMarket will simply be sending data from a partner iOS app to Apple Watch when triggered by a nearby beacon. The company made a point of noting that it’s pushing app features, such as a reminder to check a shopping list, rather than the direct advertising of in-store discounts and deals like it pushes to iOS devices.
There is at least one company planning on sending ads to Apple Watch with Tapsense recently announcing a new SDK for what it called the “first programmatic ad platform for Apple Watch.” But it wasn’t long after the announcement that the company issued an update noting that it’s uncertain of Apple’s plans for ads on the device:
Both Apple’s WatchKit SDK and the TapSense SDK are in Beta and APIs are subject to change. As and when Apple makes the WatchKit guidelines available, we will review it carefully to ensure our SDK is both in compliance and approved by Apple… TapSense SDK will not integrate directly with Apple Pay. To redeem a coupon from an ad, it would need to have a readable barcode that can be scanned at the point of sale, or the ad could be added to Passbook and then delivered to Apple Watch to be redeemed.
From the sound of the announcements from inMarket and the update from Tapsense, it would seem as if Apple hasn’t yet made up its mind for how advertising will play out on the device. Apple doesn’t have a framework yet to bring its own iAd platform to Apple Watch either.
Currently users can opt-out of beacon notifications in most apps and users are required to have the iOS app installed in order to receive the alerts in the first place. However, providing useful notifications to consumers in public spaces is still something ad companies and early adopters experimenting with the tech are trying to get right with the perfect balance of useful information versus advertising that might feel intrusive to the user. Users might have to opt-in by downloading an iOS app and allowing notifications, but intrusive alerts might lead to users deleting or disabling an app and missing future notifications.
But that’s not the case according to early stats from inMarket that claim users have responded positively. In the summer the company said a test of beacon notifications showed a 19x increase in interaction with advertisements. It also said app usage was 16.5x greater for users receiving beacon messages and those users were 6.4x more likely to keep an app on their device.
OS apps won’t require beacons to send alerts to Apple Watch though, making it a possibility iOS apps on our connected iPhone could send advertising of sorts to our wrists at any time. Apple’s guidelines for iOS apps, however, are clear on advertising policies.
For example, iOS apps “cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.” If Apple is to uphold that rule for Apple Watch, that would seem to at least eliminate advertising on Apple Watch by way of notifications sent from iOS devices, but Apple’s minimal guidelines for Apple Watch development do not currently specifically address advertising policies.
The only one reference to advertising is in the branding guidelines for Apple Watch interfaces and recommends developers “Incorporate a brand’s assets in a refined, unobtrusive way. People use your app to get things done or to be entertained; they don’t want to feel as if they’re being forced to watch an advertisement.”
Perhaps we’ll hear more from Apple soon on the subject ahead of the Watch’s launch in the coming months.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
In the traditional sense of an “ad”, I hope not. eg, I don’t want to see ads like you see at the bottom of most games or similar. That annoys me enough on my phone, having to see it on my watch too would drive me insane.
If it’s a “you’re in our shop so here’s 10% off” type ad, I can deal with that…but as is currently the case, I’d ideally like to have the store’s app installed already, or it doesn’t show.
Agreed. For instance, the Target Cartwheel app. I never think of it (mainly because I generally don’t care about coupons), but it is nice to save a few bucks here and there. Having it on the watch when I am in the aisle looking at Tide, to iBeacon an alert letting me know I can save 10% on All. That I would be ok with.
But I don’t want to be walking down the street with my watch saying Come in here!!
If a developer puts their time and money into making a free app, which you benefit from by downloading it onto your phone or AppleWatch and using, then how do you think they make any money? Do you not think they should be recompensed somehow? If they don’t offer in app purchasing then like it or not, adverts on the bottom of your screen/on your watch is exactly what you will get. And rightly so to be honest.
Maybe developers will have to charge money up front for watch apps. Shocking, I know. I would rather pay for apps on the Apple Watch than have ads.
It is not the burden of the consumer to figure out how a developer should make money. Consumers care about experiences, utility, and convenience.
I can understand and respect that developers need to make money – hell, I hate to read all the stories you see about developers barely making any money due to how cheap apps have to be to sell well now – but I would much rather have no ads on the Watch.
The best way to do this, I think, would be to have the app free on the iPhone, with ads, and have the ability to unlock the Watch functionality with an IAP. Or just charge for the app in the first place.
If you gave me the choice between having an ad on my watch or paying £5 for an app, no question, I’d pay the £5.
Other than iBeacon style offers, any form of adds would be a deal breaker for me. It sounds like a small thing but I don’t see why we people paying £££ for a premium product should have to put up with marketing/adds.
If it does, I will not buy one. I am an Apple fanatic and enough is enough, There should be some sanctity to wearables. A standard must be set in the infancy of this technology. I read somewhere that big box stores wanted to send you an ad when you are in the store and even in a area of the store that pertains to an ad. To targeted for me.
The whole purpose of advertising is to make money. You get nothing for free. You download something you can use for “free” then expect to have to pay for it somehow. In this case, adverts.
Who bought an Apple Watch for Free? You pay a premium price to not be subjected to alerts for discounts on dish soap when you walk through whole foods.
chrisI84: Read my comment. I didn’t say the Watch was free. I said if you DOWNLOAD something you can use for free, i.e an app.
More in regards to what Ben Ford mentioned towards the end, there’s a difference between a developer monetizing the use of their apps through in-app ads and the user receiving unsolicited ads on their watch from some random external source. The former is a developer profiting from their work, the latter is just plain spam and I hope you’re not trying to justify that.
OneOkami – nobody would justify spam adverts and Apple wouldn’t allow it. I’m on about adverts when apps are getting used.
You need to reevaluate what you consider as “using” an app because this article is about spamming you with ads from apps installed not actively open being “used”
Absolutely they should its a great idea!
Another great idea is having a toggle switch in user settings to TURN ADS OFF.
Best of both worlds.
How about not having ads on a device this small and expensive? If there was a switch button, it should be for turning them ON. Apple Watch is designed to be a lot of things, but an ad platform is nog one of them.
They had better damn well not! If I shell out a lot of money for an Apple Watch, I want it ad free. Advertisers have no right to invade our lives.
Yes they do – especially if you expect to download and use their apps for free.
There’s not enough real estate on an Apple Watch screen to display ads like you see on iPhone/iPad.
I think that’s the solution. No free apps.
I don’t. I BUY apps. The only free ones that I have are the ones that did not have a paid version. Unlike a lot of people, I believe in paying developers for their work instead of looking for free versions.
If the battery life is already about 1 day and its also going to light up with an ad every time I drive past a starbucks I might need to buy 4 of them just to get a fulls day usage.
I’d hate to see Apple become like Google and start placing ads everywhere. I don’t see what kind of content AppleWatch would offer where users would have to put up with ads. Apple claims its only interested in providing a good user experience and I don’t think ads fit that claim.
Assuming I ever get such a device, there’s so little screen area that I’d delete advertising apps pretty quickly.
There seems to be a misunderstanding as to how iBeacons and BLE works. This is not an imposed feature on the user, it is requested by the app and the user can disable it at any time if they so please, either by denying location access to that specific app or by turning off BlueTooth. I fail to see the concern here.
I’m completely certain they’ll do if they get the slightest chance to display this decision as something positive.
This is where I think things go too far. I’ve got ads on every almost freakin webpage I visit and I’ve got pop up ads in apps on my I-phone. They would put ads on your forehead if they could get away with it. If the Apple Watch is going to start at $350 (and go up steeply from there) I think it would be nice to have an ad-free device. To try and scoop up even more revenue from such a pricey device is just greedy. As fan of the Apple universe, I’m insulted that they would even think of cheapening the device in this way. Can we have just one device without ads please.? It completely takes away from the appeal and the elegance of the watch if this becomes the norm and it will keep me from buying one. I millions of people feel the same way, then maybe this preposterous idea will go away. I actually can’t believe that some on this blog are OK with this. Where are we going to draw the line with ad placement..? At some point it’s just rude to be this intrusive into people’s lives. The whole idea stinks to me..!
Betting that Apple will dangle an opt-in “Offers” (discounts) carrot.
I never thought about advertising on a watch! Have a lg g watch and get no ads on it, besides the ones in my emails
If I see any ad on my apple watch, I’m returning it right back to Apple.
It’s quite annoying. Why Would I want Ads on something I paid for so I can have a Personal Connection with it, and those around me? Ads aren’t personal.
Reblogged this on The Apple Peeler and commented:
This will use location services to find where you are and what business are around you. Then they send you coupons. You will have the option to close the ad/coupon or add it to your passbook to use it later.
You have a got a very valid point there,Jordan. Users all over are very concerned about ads offering an intrusive experience with beacons. This is clear indication of the how little knowledge people have on beacons. For example, for beacons to work users are required to have the iOS app installed in order to receive the alerts in the first place. Moreover, users can opt-out of beacon notifications in most apps. Now coming to Apple Watch, as long as the notification or ad pushed by brands enhances user experience, by integrating it with their loyalty program ( like Marsh Supermarkets plans to do) and makes their life easier by reminding them of that mayonnaise bottle they were planning on buying from the grocery store,by integrating it with their shopping list, users will love it. But if the ad is irrelevant with respect to location and context of the user then it will definitely add up to intrusive user experience. We’ve discussed a few ways in which brands could use Apple Watch to it’s full potential here: http://blog.mobstac.com/2015/02/how-apple-watch-is-fast-emerging-as-the-new-face-of-mobile-commerce/
Apple won’t allow ads on the Watch, at least not in the traditional sense of having ads jammed in your face against your will. If you have, say, the Macy’s app installed then that app may have the option to serve you ads when you’re at their store, but it’s virtually certain that Apple will allow users to control whether or not to receive push ads.
This is Apple, not Google or Facebook.