This Ad Tech Briefing covers the latest in ad tech and platforms for Digiday+ members and is distributed over email every Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. More from the series →Apple may have raised the ire of some within the ad industry for its more-or-less discontinuation of SKAdNetwork, a framework that dozens of companies collectively invested hundreds of millions of dollars in adopting, but that’s not to say the iPhone-maker’s ambitions in the advertising space are over.Last week, Apple quietly provided its clearest indication yet of how it intends to commercialize Apple Maps, publishing a new set of advertising policies that reveal both the opportunities and constraints facing marketers ahead of the product’s expected launch later this summer.
On the surface, the changes are procedural, with the hardware giant consolidating its programming policies covering Apple News, Stocks, Sports, and (for the first time) Maps, with the updated rules taking effect on July 14. But for advertisers, the document offers an early look at how Apple intends to differentiate its approach from Google’s in local search advertising.
For some, the most notable distinction is Apple’s decision to prohibit local service providers from advertising in Maps, including plumbing, electrical work, locksmiths, HVAC, roofing, pest control, and general contracting businesses. Those categories represent a significant portion of Google’s local advertising ecosystem, where Local Services Ads have become a cornerstone of its Maps monetization strategy.
