There’s been a lot of speculation as to what plans Google has for AdMob, and why it spent such a large chunk of change to acquire it. While it’s obviously interested in it’s broad mobile reach in terms of advertising, Google likely had its eye on something else only AdMob has- all that iPhone user-data.
With the onslaught of smartphones in recent years, the complexity has increased dramatically and so has the advertising targeted to them. AdMob spearheaded the movement to focus on creating unique ways to market to smartphone users, and particularly iPhone users – one of the most advanced and widely-used smartphones around.
By doing so, the company gained massive ground and quickly become a primary force in iPhone-centric mobile advertising. As the company grew, so did it’s massive collection of iPhone-specific user-data. This data is very valuable in that it defines how iPhone users interact with various forms of targeted advertising on a very large scale. Since the iPhone represents a new breed of smartphones and mobile devices in general, this data becomes even more valuable as it can be used to define the methods that work best for targeting new-age smartphones.
Both Google and Apple knew what AdMob had in terms of data, and the implications of harnessing that data. Apple is becoming increasingly interested in mobile advertising now that it’s a powerful force in the mobile realm, and AdMob could have been a perfect fit, but Google realized the company was even more valuable.
Android is quickly gaining momentum and becoming a well-rounded competitor to the iPhone, and Google can leverage AdMob and it’s wealth of information regarding iPhone-users to make Android the best it can be. More importantly, Google can leverage the ad-targeting data AdMob collects from iPhone users to determine the best ways to monetize Android in the future- something Apple was interested in too.
AdMob is a big deal in the mobile world, especially a mobile world filled with cutting-edge smartphones that are only getting smarter. It would have been a big deal if Apple had acquired AdMob and the potential possibilities that would have provided, but it’s an even bigger deal that Google got them first. It will undoubtedly shape the future of Android.