How the iPhone Created Ripples in the Advertising Industry
The iPhone just celebrated its 18th birthday. That means it’s finally old enough to smoke, though most iPhones start smoking one year after you buy them.
[Pause for laughter.]
In all seriousness, the iPhone was a revolutionary product that changed much more than the way we text. The iPhone has had profound effects on all sectors of business, not least of which is advertising.
Shortly after the release of the iPhone, social media platforms developed apps, and shortly after that, new ad platforms on those apps emerged. Many websites and web apps are designed with the mobile layout being the highest priority. It only took until November of 2016 for smartphones to pass desktop computers in global market share, and smartphones now make up 63.13 percent of the market. And all this is because of the iPhone.
So let’s take a look at how we got from that initial release to agencies like ours having media guides full of specs for dozens of mobile-friendly ad types.
iPhone is Released
The iPhone hit the market on June 29, 2007, and was met with incredible enthusiasm by consumers. Many of those who camped out on the sidewalk for days knew what we now take for granted—this new device would change the user experience forever. At the time, there probably weren’t many who could’ve predicted just how many changes would come or how much of an impact those changes would have on advertising and business as a whole.
Social Media Platforms Launch IOS Apps
Facebook created their app in July 2008. Twitter created theirs in May 2010. Instagram was available on the app store in October 2010. It took less than three years for the mobile phone to become, by far, the preferred hardware for using social media platforms.
Facebook Launches Facebook Developer Platform
Shortly before the iPhone was released, Facebook launched its very own development platform on which developers could create apps. With the release of the iPhone, mobile apps became the priority, and by July 2008, 33,000 apps had been created on the platform.
Websites Become Mobile First
Although accessible from any device with a web browser, the mobile design and user experience became the priority for web designers and developers. Today, almost two-thirds of web traffic is from mobile devices.
Mobile Apps Lead to New Ad Types
Today, social media is one of the most prevalent advertising channels. Facebook is the big driver for social media advertising, more so than Apple. They bought Instagram in 2012, and sponsored posts came a year later. In 2015, Instagram introduced carousel ads, quickly followed by story ads, boomerang ads, and countless other formats that have been emulated by other platforms.
Of course, even with the majority of web traffic being on mobile, there are still certain businesses and industries that lend themselves more to desktop traffic. For example, you’re probably reading this on a desktop, because ad agency blogs are the kind of thing people usually read when they’re working on something related, and not when they’re out and about (though they totally should).
But even desktop-first designs need to be optimized for mobile. The size of every image needs to change to be able to fit the iPhone, considerations are given to the fact that you can’t “hover” on things on the page the same way you can with a mouse. All this is to say, that even for sites that are designed with a desktop user experience at the front of mind, making sure the website works just as well on mobile is essential.
Even setting aside building websites, advertising on websites has been greatly affected by the prevalence on different devices. When we make something like, say, a display ad, we’re making the same ad in several different sizes to account for different devices.
Want to wax poetic about the iPhone and its place in history? Well, you’re more than welcome to do so in our accommodating offices, where we have games on our phones.