Marketwatch: Apple Hiring Execs for Ad Sales for Small Business

01 SEPTEMBER 2022 - Interesting news from Marketwatch this week. You know those small business advertisers that broke up with Facebook once Apple implemented App Tracking Transparency? Apple may be looking to give those small business advertisers a new home.

Lots of small businesses were reportedly hurt when Apple flipped the switch on App Tracking Transparency. That was the change in iOS 14 that did not stop services like Facebook from tracking users across the web. It did, however, require them to get permission first. Having failed to make a decent case for why people should say “yes,” many people told Facebook “no.” Without the ability to track, Facebook ads were seen as less effective, causing a lot of small businesses to drop advertising on the platform, causing Facebook to lose a lot of money.

Now, there are all of these small businesses that could maybe use an effective ad platform. And that is a void that Apple seems to be eyeing. Marketwatch says is has:

…found two recent job postings from Apple that suggest the company is looking to build out its burgeoning adtech team with folks who specialize in working with small businesses. Specifically, the company says it’s looking for two product managers who are “inspired to make a difference in how digital advertising will work in a privacy-centric world,” who want to “design and build consumer advertising experiences.”

No doubt such hires will prompt cries of hypocrisy against Apple, and accusations that the company killed Facebook’s ad business to bolster its own. It’s possible that case could be made, though a recent op-ed by Mike Peterson at Apple Insider argues, “Apple has never been against advertising — it's against invasive data collection.” One imagines that that is a distinction Apple will highlight going forward, and that its opponents will do their best to ignore.