If you haven’t heard about the Apple iPad, you clearly live in a cave; though to be completely honest, when was the last time Apple wasn’t launching a new product or being rumored to be? Apple’s propensity to outdo itself on a regular basis aside, the iPad is on track to rewrite history and redefine the print industry like its predecessor, the iPod, did for the music industry.
In May, Apple announced it had sold one million iPad’s in just 28 days, beating sales of the iPhone, which took 74 days to sell the same number of units. So, what does this really mean for the ad industry? Even more fragmented budgets. Advertisers aren’t going to carve out a specific iPad budget, so that means agencies are likely to portion out a piece of either the online or the print budget to fund a foray into this “new” medium.
The good news, however is that the iPad could breathe new life into the floundering world of magazines and newspapers, allowing purchase and consumption in a way consumers never had before and perhaps higher ad perception. Additionally, with everyone doing their best to “go green”, this is a way for advertisers to place those oh-so-wonderful print ads while still saving trees! The caveat being that placing the ad will probably cost 400% more, but “dems the breaks” for being an early adopter. My suggestion is to just do it and see what happens.
Full disclosure: Brad is an interactive media planner and sees things through a digital lens. He is also a self described Google lover, so take it for what it’s worth.
