We are thrilled to return to Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress, where PubMatic’s global mobile experts will be eager to discuss the top-of-mind issues for leaders in publishing, media and advertising today.
As we prepare for the conference, we wanted to share a brief preview of the top three focus areas we’re looking forward to discussing with attendees: effective monetization strategies for publishers, inspiring media buyer confidence and global mobile growth opportunities. Read more about these trends below, and we look forward to meeting with you at the conference to talk further.
To schedule a meeting with someone on our team, visit our booth at Hall 8.1 – App Planet Stand 8.1E61.
Mobile Monetization
As mobile consumption continues to grow, publishers are scrambling to monetize every “mobile moment,” i.e. that point in time when consumers pick up a connected device seeking specific content. Consumers have shown their frustration with poor ad experiences and slow page load times by increasingly adopting ad blockers, while publishers and advertisers continue to wrestle with fraud issues, forcing the industry to shift towards higher-quality ad experiences. Programmatic strategies like private marketplaces (PMP) and header bidding have emerged to address these challenges.
Private Marketplaces (PMP)
With PMP deals, publishers are seeing increased revenue as advertisers direct more ad spend to transparent marketplaces, driving higher CPMs. PubMatic’s Q4 2015 Quarterly Mobile Index, released in January, revealed that advertisers increased spending for higher-quality inventory with better targeting capabilities, especially through more transparent mobile private marketplaces (PMPs). This is proving to be an effective monetization strategy, as many premium publishers are garnering higher prices for their inventory and attracting more mobile ad spending.
Learn more about PMPs with our infographic, Private Marketplace Deals Explained, and blog post, How Analytics Can Increase PMP Revenue for Publishers.
Header Bidding
Another effective monetization strategy, and a hot topic in the programmatic space recently, is the answer to the outdated publisher waterfall known as “header bidding.” In short, header bidding is a marketing tactic that permits multiple media buyers to submit pre-bids on inventory before the publisher alerts its ad server. This allows publishers to attract more bids from more demand sources.
With PubMatic’s header bidding solution, Decision Manager, publishers can take back control of their inventory allocation in a holistic manner. After implementing a single header tag, the product allows publishers to integrate direct-sold inventory with all indirect inventory (across desktop and mobile web), which can result in higher average CPMs. Decision Manager also helps publishers strengthen relationships with their advertiser and agency partners by providing them access to larger pools of high-quality inventory that is often guaranteed and direct-sold.
For more on header bidding and PubMatic’s Decision Manager, check out our white paper, Decision Manager: Your Inventory. Your Rules. and blog post, Going Once…Going Twice… SOLD to the Header Bidder!
Inspiring Buyer Confidence
With PMP deals, buyers are able to better reach their target audience through transparent marketplaces, with the benefit of access to premium inventory that might not otherwise be available in the open market. These transparent marketplaces allow brands to plan out campaigns more efficiently and accurately.
Our Q4 2015 Quarterly Mobile Index also found that this past holiday season, major brand advertisers looked to target mobile consumers with relevant advertising messages through mobile PMPs, which saw volume spikes around Black Friday. Advertisers increasingly sought higher-quality mobile inventory on PMPs to target holiday shoppers on mobile devices.
The increased spending in mobile PMP during Black Friday and Cyber Monday suggest similar rises in mobile ad prices and spending around this year’s landmark events, including the 2016 presidential election and major sporting events. Agencies looking to effectively execute on their advertiser clients’ strategic plans around major events should look to PMPs to buy timely, premium inventory, at scale.
Global Mobile Growth Opportunities
According to eMarketer, the global mobile advertising market currently stands at $72 billion and is projected to grow to nearly $200 billion by 2019. Supporting this trend, our Q4 2015 Quarterly Mobile Index (QMI) found that mobile growth is being driven by higher mobile CPMs, compared to desktop, within programmatic advertising.
Opportunity for mobile growth also remains strong on a global scale. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is leading the way with a 524% increase in monetized mobile impression volume, while the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region saw an 82% increase year-over-year in Q4 2015.
