Apple enters mobile advertising space with Quattro buy

The increasing rivalry between Google and Apple spilled over into mobile advertising space this morning with Apple’s announcement it is buying Quattro Wireless for a reported $275 million, according to All Things Digital, which broke the news.
Neither Apple nor Quattro commented on the price of the purchase, but Quattro did confirm the sale of the company on its corporate blog this morning. “We have built our business by enabling advertisers to reach the right consumers across the mobile web and in applications. We remain focused on delivering more engaging, relevant and useful ads to mobile devices, and improving the measurement and execution of digital campaigns. Together with Apple, we look forward to developing exciting new opportunities in the future that will benefit our customers,” wrote Andy Miller, CEO of Quattro, who signed his name as VP of mobile advertising, Apple.
Formed in 2006, Quattro powers mobile advertising network matches brand advertisers and direct marketers with consumers on the mobile Web. Advertising clients include Kraft, Papa Johns, Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp.
The acquisition comes on the heels of Google’s purchase of Quattro competitor AdMob for a reported $750 million, further signs that the mobile marketing space is set to explode as marketers embrace the intimacy of the mobile platform in matching advertisers with consumers. AdMob founder Omar Hamoui even paid homage to Apple and the iPhone in his Nov. 9 blog post commenting on AdMob’s impending sale to Google. “Then came the iPhone. Suddenly, Apple solved so many problems that had plagued mobile for so long. They showed all of us the way forward and their efforts have led to a landslide of rapid improvements in our space. We were so excited by the promise the iPhone represented that we shifted a significant portion of our attention to that device in its very early days. We launched the first iPhone ad units focused on the web and quickly added the capability to run ads in applications. Now with the addition of excellent devices from Palm, Nokia, RIM, and plethora of Android powered smartphones, we have all the preconditions necessary for what will be a tidal wave of mobile browsing and app usage. But let there be no mistake. Our business, and the mobile industry in general, owes Apple a debt of gratitude.”