The promise of Apple News as a lucrative advertising platform has fallen short for many publishers, and this has implications for European advertisers seeking diversified digital channels. While Apple has been pushing to expand its ad inventory on the platform, the actual return on investment remains elusive. For Europe’s top brands, understanding why this channel underperforms is essential for strategic planning in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Apple News boasts a global reach and a reputation for content curation, attracting a substantial user base. However, the platform has yet to translate this into significant ad revenue streams for publishers. In stark contrast to platforms like Google and Facebook, which offer mature, data-rich ecosystems for advertisers, Apple News’s approach is notably different. It prioritizes user privacy, which, while commendable, limits the data available for targeted advertising. The absence of third-party cookies and restrictions on cross-site tracking make it challenging for advertisers to execute highly targeted campaigns.
Europe, with its diverse media ecosystem and stringent privacy regulations—epitomized by GDPR—observes Apple’s model with a mix of intrigue and caution. The European advertising landscape values audience engagement and conversion metrics driven by data-driven insights. Apple’s approach, focusing on privacy, clashes with these priorities, resulting in suboptimal performance for many ad campaigns. Research suggests that the click-through rates (CTR) on Apple News are significantly lower than on other platforms, reducing its attractiveness as a core channel for serious ad spend.
An illustrative point from recent discussions is the misalignment of Apple News’s pricing model with market expectations. Despite an increasing push by Apple to attract advertisers, the CPM (cost per thousand impressions) on Apple News remains disproportionately high in comparison to its performance. This disparity is a sticking point for European advertisers who demand transparency and value for money in an era where every euro spent on advertising must be justified and accounted for.
“Apple’s premium ecosystem doesn’t equate to premium returns for advertisers,” says Angela Müller, Chief Marketing Officer at Munich-based media agency Zenithum Group. “The European market requires a nuanced approach that respects privacy while still delivering measurable outcomes. Apple News needs to bridge this gap more effectively to become an appealing channel for future media plans.”
For senior marketers, the lesson here is one of caution and reevaluation. While Apple News presents a prestigious platform, it currently does not provide the ROI that brands need to justify significant investment. Marketers should remain agile, evaluating multiple digital avenues and perhaps leveraging other aspects of Apple’s product ecosystem—like podcasts or iOS apps—where user engagement might be higher and more measurable.
As we move forward in a digital realm increasingly dominated by concerns over privacy, European advertisers must carefully balance their efforts between platforms. The strategic takeaway is clear: Prioritize platforms that offer a blend of wide reach, detailed targeting, and transparent reporting. Apple News, while potentially part of a multi-channel strategy, shouldn’t yet become a cornerstone without further evolution in its advertising capabilities.
— AdEdge Europe Editorial Team