In recent weeks, Apple has been beefing up the talented team in its iAd sales unit. The reason? To make iTunes Radio an advertising juggernaut.
According to a new report from AdWeek, Apple has redirected the focus of its iAd sales team toward the iTunes Radio service.
Apple leadership has given the iAds team a new mission: always be selling iTunes Radio. And while the sales team is busy pushing Apple radio inventory, the company will build a real-time bidding exchange to automate selling in-app ads, multiple sources said.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of software, reportedly confirmed in a staff meeting before the holidays, that “iTunes Radio is the top priority, and app ads are not.”
“The message that came across was basically if you’re not working on iTunes Radio, you’re irrelevant,” one unnamed Apple source was quoted in the piece.