With Apple reportedly looking to introduce Apple Maps search ads next year, marketers are weighing the potential benefits of investing in navigation platforms and how consumers will adjust.

“Now, location and movement data is accurate enough to power ads without crossing any lines,” said Adam Cohen, CEO and co-founder of out-of-home ad network Stic. “Apple already knows how to monetize high-intent spaces like the App Store, and Maps is simply next.”

Adapting to new search habits

Marketers are facing an upheaval in the traditional ways to reach consumers on digital platforms. Reduced use of traditional search engines like Google (64%) is the top AI shift impacting traditional advertising, according to a September Funnel survey.

“We are going to see a more drastic shift [away from budgets] being spent on websites, and that budget has to go somewhere,” said Raj Lala, VP of US sales and development at Vistar Media, pointing to navigation environments as an alternative.

And location-based data has already proved lucrative, as 58% of retail professionals say geospatial insights have a positive effect on revenue, according to a June RSR survey.

“If Apple proves Maps can drive measurable local intent, marketers will pay attention fast,” said Cohen. “Mobility could start competing with traditional search for real-world discovery.”

Competing with Google Maps

On market-leader Google Maps, which introduced ads long ago, marketers choose from formats including pins, search ads, and suggested ads.

“When you look at the advertising ecosystem, Apple has kind of removed themselves and kept themselves as a separate entity,” said Lala.

While Apple dominates physical tech products, Google Maps leads over Apple Maps: While Google Maps was the fifth most popular app in September with 131.8 million users, Apple Maps doesn’t make the top 15, according to a Comscore report.. Focusing on relevance instead of pure context could differentiate Apple from Google Maps, said Cohen.

“One thing Apple does well is ad policy, and ensuring that the brands that are surfacing in these environments are going to be highly vetted, filtered, and relevant,” said Lala.

Considering consumer comfort

While Google Maps has more traction, Apple has a larger consumer base for advertisers within in-car software. By 2028, Apple's CarPlay is projected to reach 53.5 million users while Android Auto will grow to 36.7 million, according to a September 2024 EMARKETER forecast.

“Apple is sitting on a very valuable trove of data,” said Lala. “Any consumer opinion is likely going to lean negative unless the ads can make (ads) useful to people in some capacity.”

Consumers may not be happy about an increase in ads, but more people find browser history-based ads invasive (59%) than location-based ads (35%), according to a January YouGov survey.

“Right now, most media planning still centers around screens,” said Cohen. “This move could help brands think more about moments in the physical world.”

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.