Fishlabs: iAd's eCPM is 10 to 20 times higher than other networks

It's been 27 days since Apple's iAd mobile advertising platform went live, but apart from some higher, higher, lower, lower early feedback, there's not been much follow up concerning its performance.

Perhaps that's because it's limited to US users, and there's also a production bottleneck in terms of the Apple-produced ads themselves.

Still, one game studio quick to experiment with the business model was German developer Fishlabs, which released an iAd-enabled free version of its Burning Tires racer.

We caught up with CEO Michael Schade to find out how it was working out so far.

Getting better

"We can confirm the eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) is about 10 to 20 times higher than we have seen in other ad networks," Schade said.

"The fill rate has gone up since launch too. It's within the two digit percent range now."

Click Through Rates (CTR) have remained lower than expected though.

"We're surprised it's in the low single digit percent. We experienced ten times higher CTR when we ran a campaign with MTV in Powerboat Challenge," he says.

"However, you could argue that MTV is much more appealing to the average gamer compared to the brands that are currently running iAd campaigns."

The first iAd campaigns included Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle and Unilever's Dove for Men personal care brand.