by Dan Moren
Report: Apple shifting to automated iAd platform
BuzzFeed’s generally well-sourced John Paczkowski says Apple is ditching its iAd sales team in favor of an entirely automated system:
Apple is phasing out its iAd sales force entirely and updating the iAds platform so that publishers can sell through it directly. And publishers who do so will keep 100% of the revenue they generate.
Most interestingly, the stated rationale:
“It’s just not something we’re good at,” one source told BuzzFeed News.
iAd always struck me as an attempt to go toe-to-toe with Google, but Mountain View just has so much more skin in that game that it seemed like more of a distraction from Apple’s real strength: creating great products.