Why AdMob Metrics are Irrelevant for Branded iPhone Applications
Each month AdMob releases a report which is widely cited in the media and contains a wealth of information. However, many people take the data as law and don’t evaluate what is being presented. Let’s be clear, AdMob is a tremendous business and a great resource, but the information in the latest report (pdf) regarding application usage is dangerous, particularly for brand marketers not well-versed in the mobile marketing space.
As presented, the data clearly shows that outside of a few major applications, usage of iPhone applications falls off the proverbial cliff. Only 5% of applications have more than 100,000 active users and more than 50% have less than 1,000 users. Taken without context, as has been the case with most media outlets, this presents a dire picture for any company looking to connect with customers with an application. What isn’t immediately evident to those skimming headlines and articles is that these numbers are derived only from those applications that use AdMob to serve ads. This is analogous to comparing the users of a corporate website to those that visit a random website that shows ads from Google. In no way can a branded experience be compared to the applications and games of companies using AdMob.
Creating a branded iPhone application is certainly not a guarantee of success, but choosing not to do so based on irrelevant data is lazy at best.