Smartphone adoption and the spread of 5G is changing the way we watch video content on mobile devices. Data consumption is being driven by mobile video not just for entertainment but also for advertising. Mobile video monetization is ever-evolving with the advancements in technology and programmatic advertising has been progressing along with it. Every year, more advertisers are testing the mobile programmatic waters, but some publishers still seem hesitant.
In our Mobile Publishing Survey, we learned that more than 60% of publishers are expected to have incorporated programmatic solutions into their monetization strategy by the end of the year. That still leaves a significant share of publishers who are unsure or do not have plans. Whether you are still considering programmatic ads or have already jumped in, we have created a guide to help better understand the benefits of programmatic advertising and how it is affecting mobile advertising today.
Why should you serve ads programmatically?
Before diving into its benefits, let’s start with a refresher on programmatic. Programmatic advertising is the real-time buying and selling of ad inventory through an automated bidding system. Advertisers can purchase ad impressions on apps through a sophisticated ecosystem. Traditionally, this process would include requests for proposals, quotes, and negotiation but the automated buying process allows more time for improving and optimizing ads.
With an automated system, mobile publishers can provide a more efficient solution to advertisers. Here are some key benefits of programmatic advertising:
- Real-time Insights and Data
- Because it is an automated platform, programmatic advertising can provide real-time information on the performance of their ad campaigns. Insights can be drawn to optimize campaigns and improve their effectiveness. In more traditional advertising models, it takes a significant amount of time to get the results of these campaigns, and data could be less accurate.
- Greater Transparency
- Real-time data presents another significant advantage of serving programmatic ads: the ability to offer greater transparency to advertisers. Advertisers can more easily track what sites their campaigns are being placed in, the amount of budget that is being used, and what kind of consumers who are seeing the ads.
- Better Targeting Capabilities
- Programmatic advertising supports advanced targeting to help advertisers reach high-quality audiences at scale. One method is to use first and third-party data to improve an audience profile and reach out to them with accuracy. Another approach is contextual targeting which derives data from user-profiles and page content to deliver appropriate ads. In addition to these strategies, programmatic advertising allows the use of remarketing, geo-targeting, data and IP address targeting, and website or app targeting. These refined capabilities provide plenty of room for accurate and specific ads.
- Widened reach
- Programmatic advertising offers more opportunities in potential reach. By supporting multiple ad exchanges and networks, programmatic ads have access to far more ad space on thousands of websites at once. Brands can advertise at scale at affordable prices and with little effort. Aside from reaching a larger desired audience, advertisers will be able to track this kind of data instantly to better understand how effective their campaigns are.
- Increased relevancy
- Programmatic ad buying gives advertisers access to a massive ad inventory including premium inventory and private marketplaces with high-quality traffic. The efficiency of this process enables advertisers to pay only for relevant impressions. Programmatic advertising allows for a better chance of maximizing the relevancy of ads for specific targeted audiences and improving ROAS.
The Growing Revenue of Programmatic Ads
Programmatic advertising, particularly in mobile video, has been growing and will continue for the next few years Ad spend is increasing every year and is expected to be used for the vast majority of mobile video within the next year or two. According to eMarketer, Mobile video ads sold programmatically made $19.93 billion in revenue in 2019 in the United States alone and are expected to generate $24.87 billion this year. Mobile programmatic video ads accounted for 87% of total mobile video ad spending in 2019.
Advertisers are seeing a much more competitive landscape so many publishers are establishing partnerships where they can sell ads via programmatic direct. By offering programmatic solutions, publishers can provide a more effective and cost-efficient process to advertisers. The endless opportunities of programmatic are mutually beneficial to both brands and the mobile publishers that host the ads.
Join the Conversation
Have you incorporated programmatic into your monetization strategy? What is the best benefit of using programmatic advertising in your apps? Tweet us @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
