October 22, 2012 at 16:26Changes in Apple Developer Guideline - what are they with?
More recently, just a couple of weeks ago, many iOS developers started reporting changes to the Apple Developer Guideline. These changes, most likely related to a marketing strategy that developers may not be interested in, have spread fear and doubt in the Apple mobile ecosystem as a whole. Below is an exact quote regarding the above changes:
Translation:
2.25 Applications that display other applications (except their own) for the purpose of selling or advertising that can be confused with advertising on the App Store will be rejected.
To understand this issue, let's divide it into 4 parts and try to analyze who is likely to benefit, who will lose from these changes, and who they simply will not affect.
The comments you hear may give the impression that things are bad, but none of them represent the point of view of Apple. Therefore, let's try to fill this gap and take a walk in Apple's shoes for a couple of minutes. It’s probably great to feel like the most expensive company in the world. You can say that you are the creator of the concept of the mobile ecosystem with the App Store as its key component, which owes its success to the iPhone and iPad. If mediocre applications flood in the App Store (in terms of innovation and quality), the store’s value will instantly drop, causing the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch to lose value as a product. It’s clear what happens when your product begins to look less and less valuable in the eyes of your customers. Suddenly you may be in a place
Obviously, Apple does not want to let anyone play its ratings. The company wants developers with large budgets not to be able to take advantage of their position and “buy” a place in the ranking. Apple wants to keep the game fair. They understand that developers want to get to the top of the App Store and make more money. However, if you watch the events of Apple's WWDC format, you will see how the leaders of these companies name the amounts that the App Store brings to the developers. This is a gold mine. And if the developers abandon the App Store, the entire ecosystem will collapse - everything is quite simple.
But, like in any other large market, even Apple cannot make every developer happy; The company relies on the best applications that come from the most innovative developers.
The iOS platform is unique in many ways, but there is an obvious fact that combines it with any other platform - developers come there to make money. Now that Apple’s intention to improve its platform with each innovation in order to bring more profit to both sides, it became clear that we finally see the other side of the coin. To put it mildly, not every iOS developer liked the latest changes and, obviously, they see a threat to the usual choice of advertising methods for their applications.
Honestly, a number of marketing tools to achieve optimal application visibility on the App Store are quite limited, and promotion through sites such as FAAD was one of the main tools allowing the application to jump from nowhere to the top of the App Store. Quite often, an app marketing team is expected to take the App Stor’s fortress in a bout. Marketers are trying to use all kinds of approaches to achieve these (frankly, often unrealistic) goals and the newly introduced changes will not surprise them for sure. In fact, in many cases they can be a relief. After all, customers cannot demand prohibited actions from advertisers.
Obviously, this part of the equation is most affected. Since changes in Apple policy have occurred recently, they have not affected anyone. It is also unclear (as is always the case with Apple) when the new rules will actually take effect.
Tapjoy had previously confronted Apple because of the nature of their services. Nevertheless, they managed to resolve their differences, and Tapjoy changed their business model to make sure that the interaction remains mutually beneficial without detriment to the company. A lesson worth learning is that you cannot rely on one inert business model when it comes to providing marketing services in Apple’s mobile app ecosystem. You must have a backup plan to support your business, or you must be prepared to adapt your current services to fit what the digital giant considers acceptable.
Tighter rules and instructions for companies that provide programs with advertising and cross-promotional solutions, does not mean that all methods of mobile marketing will be affected. This means that services such as App Store Optimization for your application, promotion through social media, purchasing media space and video demos (like many others) will remain not only effective, but also acceptable by Apple. They may close service providers of the FreeAppADay format, but any “white” marketing methods that rely on objectively constructive actions will not feel the impact of Apple changes.
What about the consumer? How does this affect his experience finding and discovering new applications on the App Store? Let's assume that starting tomorrow, cross-promotional services of companies such as FAAD will become history - how will this affect the average user of the application? The problem with cross-promotion as a method of promoting FAAD is that sometimes applications that do not deserve this appear on the top of the App Store, regardless of whether they were there due to manipulations with user comments, reviews or the number of downloads. This means that the consumer only wins here.
Just in case, we recall that we highlighted the possible consequences of the changes. Like many other things in our digital age, they can change diametrically quickly enough. Then we will forget about our suspicions, as if nothing had happened.
Translation:
2.25 Applications that display other applications (except their own) for the purpose of selling or advertising that can be confused with advertising on the App Store will be rejected.
To understand this issue, let's divide it into 4 parts and try to analyze who is likely to benefit, who will lose from these changes, and who they simply will not affect.
Apple
The comments you hear may give the impression that things are bad, but none of them represent the point of view of Apple. Therefore, let's try to fill this gap and take a walk in Apple's shoes for a couple of minutes. It’s probably great to feel like the most expensive company in the world. You can say that you are the creator of the concept of the mobile ecosystem with the App Store as its key component, which owes its success to the iPhone and iPad. If mediocre applications flood in the App Store (in terms of innovation and quality), the store’s value will instantly drop, causing the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch to lose value as a product. It’s clear what happens when your product begins to look less and less valuable in the eyes of your customers. Suddenly you may be in a place
Obviously, Apple does not want to let anyone play its ratings. The company wants developers with large budgets not to be able to take advantage of their position and “buy” a place in the ranking. Apple wants to keep the game fair. They understand that developers want to get to the top of the App Store and make more money. However, if you watch the events of Apple's WWDC format, you will see how the leaders of these companies name the amounts that the App Store brings to the developers. This is a gold mine. And if the developers abandon the App Store, the entire ecosystem will collapse - everything is quite simple.
But, like in any other large market, even Apple cannot make every developer happy; The company relies on the best applications that come from the most innovative developers.
Developers
The iOS platform is unique in many ways, but there is an obvious fact that combines it with any other platform - developers come there to make money. Now that Apple’s intention to improve its platform with each innovation in order to bring more profit to both sides, it became clear that we finally see the other side of the coin. To put it mildly, not every iOS developer liked the latest changes and, obviously, they see a threat to the usual choice of advertising methods for their applications.
Honestly, a number of marketing tools to achieve optimal application visibility on the App Store are quite limited, and promotion through sites such as FAAD was one of the main tools allowing the application to jump from nowhere to the top of the App Store. Quite often, an app marketing team is expected to take the App Stor’s fortress in a bout. Marketers are trying to use all kinds of approaches to achieve these (frankly, often unrealistic) goals and the newly introduced changes will not surprise them for sure. In fact, in many cases they can be a relief. After all, customers cannot demand prohibited actions from advertisers.
Marketers
Obviously, this part of the equation is most affected. Since changes in Apple policy have occurred recently, they have not affected anyone. It is also unclear (as is always the case with Apple) when the new rules will actually take effect.
Tapjoy had previously confronted Apple because of the nature of their services. Nevertheless, they managed to resolve their differences, and Tapjoy changed their business model to make sure that the interaction remains mutually beneficial without detriment to the company. A lesson worth learning is that you cannot rely on one inert business model when it comes to providing marketing services in Apple’s mobile app ecosystem. You must have a backup plan to support your business, or you must be prepared to adapt your current services to fit what the digital giant considers acceptable.
Tighter rules and instructions for companies that provide programs with advertising and cross-promotional solutions, does not mean that all methods of mobile marketing will be affected. This means that services such as App Store Optimization for your application, promotion through social media, purchasing media space and video demos (like many others) will remain not only effective, but also acceptable by Apple. They may close service providers of the FreeAppADay format, but any “white” marketing methods that rely on objectively constructive actions will not feel the impact of Apple changes.
Consumer
What about the consumer? How does this affect his experience finding and discovering new applications on the App Store? Let's assume that starting tomorrow, cross-promotional services of companies such as FAAD will become history - how will this affect the average user of the application? The problem with cross-promotion as a method of promoting FAAD is that sometimes applications that do not deserve this appear on the top of the App Store, regardless of whether they were there due to manipulations with user comments, reviews or the number of downloads. This means that the consumer only wins here.
Just in case, we recall that we highlighted the possible consequences of the changes. Like many other things in our digital age, they can change diametrically quickly enough. Then we will forget about our suspicions, as if nothing had happened.