I predict Apple will build its own Ad Network – one based in the emerging sector of geo-location and contextual marketing. Why? Because services as well as products are what they do. Apple changed it’s name back in January 1997 from Apple Computer to just Apple – the reasoning stated by Job’s during a Macworld keynote was that it had been recognised by them that Apple was more then just computers. And why not, they have an extensive portfolio of offerings that span the retail sector to online distribution.

Alongside their core markets of hardware and software, they have created successful markets in the digital music business, are gaining traction in the digital distribution of movie and TV entertainment and have proven that people will pay for bitsy applications which are the core of the successful Apps store.

It is really the first positioning steps in creating a fully fledged geo-advertising network

Recently, alongside the launch of the iPad they have jumped into the digital book market with the soon-to-launch iBookstore – a direct stab at Amazon’s core marketspace.

So the recent announcement that it will ban or reject applications that are built primarily for the purpose of pushing geo-contextual adverts – shouldn’t come as much of a surprise – as it is really the first positioning steps in creating a fully fledged geo-advertising network. Google has the search and banner advert market more or less sewn up, and trying to topple this king-of-the-hill has proven to best even the two other big gorillas in the internet corporate zoo – namely, Yahoo and Microsoft.

However, one area that Google has shown to have an Achilles heel is in geo-contextual advertising (as well as Social but this is a whole other post) – they don’t seem to get it – which is great for those that do – Apple created the iPhone (and so invented what is really the neo-pda market) and although they haven’t shown all their cards yet I think they get the value of geo-contextual information – and one type of information is advertising.

Their recent purchase of Quattro Wireless has given them an pillar in moving forward with creating services and products that take advantage of this next step-change in the advertising model. But to make this compelling and to ensure the model is not tainted by what Apple would view as heathen or experimental attempts by others – that being either smaller ad networks or back-shed bit players – they have headed it off at the pass.

In the coming months it will be interesting to see how this area develops – especially with the iPad in play and what I am sure will be a new iPhone on the market by mid-year. Along with rumors that Apple will allow some type of background services for Apps – we can expect the Geo-contextual space to grow massively over the course of 2010.

Photo Credit: OeilDeNuit