According to AdMob, iPhone and iPod Touch users discovered the 1.5 billion apps they’ve downloaded through search and browsing, which is hardly surprising. (What else could it be? Recommendation engine? Social recs?)
The surprising nugget was that a full 20% of respondents claimed they discovered apps through ads in other apps. If true, this could point the way for companies hungry to promote their brands through iPhone apps. Instead of relying upon the Field of Dreams school of product promotion (“If you build it, they will come”), they could promote their apps through targeted advertisements in current popular apps which offer the best spillover effects. (Of course, determining spillover potential is an art unto itself.)
Now, a couple of caveats:
- This was a small survey (n=190).
- AdMob has a vested interest in driving cross-app advertising sales.
So take these results with just a little grain of salt.
via CHART OF THE DAY: How Do iPhone Users Discover Apps? (AAPL).
