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The verdict is in: mobile is booming. A recent eMarketer study suggests that by 2019, mobile ad spend is projected to increase to 72.2% of total digital ad expenditures. It’s time to re-assess your primary approach because simply buying mobile inventory across multiple screens is no longer enough. To drive real business impact in the current landscape, a mature, robust mobile targeting strategy is imperative.
As a part of our 3Ton30 educational webinar series, Centro is delivering some in-depth information on four mobile targeting tactics on March 16th at 1:30 p.m. EST. In case you missed it, you can find the recording and slides presented here.
In the meantime, here’s a quick list of terms every marketer needs to know in order elevate your mobile strategy in 2016.
Click-Through Rate: (CTR for short) The number of click-throughs per ad impression, expressed as a percentage (American Marketing Association).
Cross-device Targeting: The ability to target the same consumer, from one connected device to another.
Location Targeting: A method for targeting ads to customers based on their vicinity or location. Targeting techniques can encompass a variety of data including geolocation, contextual element of media, user preferences, and more.
Traditional Retargeting: The act of gathering data on a web visitor and then serving an ad to that visitor on another website based on their online behavior. Data for this tactic is derived from the cookie that is placed on the visitor’s computer upon the initial website visit.
Viewability: The Media Ratings Council’s standard states that a viewable impression measurement of ads in mobile web browser environments should follow the existing guidance for viewability in desktop: 50% of pixels in the viewable space of the browser for a minimum of one second (display) or two seconds (video) for a viewable desktop display impression is a minimum of 50% of pixels (of the digital ad) in view (within the browser) for a minimum of one second.
"Understanding the new terms born out of the multi-device world gives brands clarity to achieve their digital marketing goals. Furthermore, brands can use this knowledge to better collaborate with the various industry partners developing technology to execute a cross-channel strategy — which will ultimately deliver business outcomes that matter to any marketer."
Read more from Centro's Kelly Wenzel in Chief Marketer
To distill the topic of ad blocking, below is a primer on the subject and how it may affect advertisers, publishers and tech companies.
Ad blocking is the removal of advertising content on websites via the user’s browser. It is facilitated mostly by installing a third party browser extension (most of this type of software is free). When a page is loaded on a browser (on desktop and mobile), the software determines what part of the page is content and what parts are ads – the ads are blocked by preventing the creative from being served.
Why people block ads
The most common reasons for ad blocking revolve around three aspects for Internet users.
Performance – loading ads on pages requires processing of data. With many ad units on the page (and possibility dynamic creative such as video, animation, etc.), more data is required to load the ad. This potentially creates a bottleneck that could slow the time it takes for content to load on a page.
Privacy – preventing ads to load also prevents ad serving systems from gathering more data on users about behavior. It’s as if that user loading a page didn’t exist because the ad serving system won’t be able to place a cookie on the user, nor determine if the user is someone the ad serving company has seen before.
Security – Ads can be manipulated by bad actors as a gateway to install viruses and malware on browsers. Ad serving companies proactively vet their advertising customers to weed out bad actors, but some make it through the review process and load malicious ads.
Ad blocking stats
Here are the facts according to the yearly PageFair (analytics tech firm) and Adobe annual ad blocking report:
Mobile
While mobile web browsing activity is increasing (it was 38% of all web browsing in Q2 2015), a very low percentage of ad blocking happened on mobile (roughly 2%) – but that’s mainly a function of availability of blocking software. The recently released iOS 9 could increase mobile ad blocking because it supports ad blocking apps – Mobile Safari represents 52% of mobile browsing.
For users, the nuances of the mobile experience can make it more compelling for users to proactively block content. Less content to load means less use of data (which is finite for most users). Unlike desktop browsing, where the data pipes are wider and device computing power can load sites in a couple of seconds, the experience on mobile is more easily bogged down because of data being processed to load sites.
What happens when ads are blocked
Ad blocking software uses filter lists which can contain numerous page elements including ad serving domains that are commonly associated with companies that place ads (think ad exchanges or ad networks). The software identifies domains to block the ads coming through on sites. This includes ads served on display, video and sponsored content widgets.
Why you should care
If you are a publisher, you lose revenue opportunity – especially if you cater to the demo that has a high propensity of using ad blockers. The revenue impact from mobile users may be minimal right now because the bulk of overall revenue for most publishers come from desktop ads and because mobile ad blocking is still new.
If you are an agency or advertiser, you wouldn’t pay for an ad that was blocked. It’s as if the opportunity to serve an ad was never there. But if your service or product is designed for that demo that tends to block ads, your campaigns may experience lower scale. Because of this, you may need to devise other ways to reach and engage your target audience aside from paid media channels.
What we can do
Tactically, for advertisers, one approach is to determine if ad blocking may impact your media plan. If your core target is young men, you may want to consider ad formats or ad channels that cannot be blocked (page skins, sponsored content, SEM). Make sure you understand your alternative ad options.
Publishers are taking various approaches. Some are re-designing their sites to have less units that are susceptible to ad blocking. Some re-designs are focused on better/faster experiences for users to make sure they don’t even think about installing ad blockers. Other publishers are blocking content from users that have blockers installed. Some have proactively served messages to those users pointing out how ad revenue enables them to provide content for free.
Ad blocking is growing because users are dissatisfied with their Internet experience. They feel that ads clutter the content they want to consume, slows their productivity and exposes them to unforeseen dangers. Publishers can fix this by taking a hard look at their pages and determining if the backend technology and layout is fully optimized to give users a great experience. From the advertiser perspective, tech companies that facilitate serving ads (DSPs, exchanges, ad networks) need to be diligent about the quality (of the creative and the advertiser itself) that goes through their pipes. This is a shared problem in the industry and it is adding up because companies are serving tons and tons of ads -- to the point that users get fed up with our marketing messages. Let’s stop the ad blocking trickle before it becomes a deluge.
Back in December, we talked about digital media emerging as a critical strategy for campaign success. Spend is up, usage is up, and early predictions claim that the candidate who rides the road all the way to the White House will also be the one who best harnesses the power of digital.
As results from the primaries are rolling in, so too are the stats proving that digital media has moved from the wings to center stage. A study released by the IAB in late January showed that digital media was on par with TV as a primary source of information about the candidates and political issues. But, just like campaigning, effective digital requires a smart strategy - one that takes advantage of the right opportunities at the right moments, all while sidestepping potential landmines. Super Tuesday is March 1st. Will the big winners also be the biggest digital marketers?
Only time will tell.
Each issue of Political Digital Digest brings you the latest news and developing stories about the innovative role digital media is playing in the 2106 election. Everything you need to know is right here, right now.
What You Need to Know
Related articles:
http://www.journalism.org/2016/02/04/the-2016-presidential-campaign-a-news-event-thats-hard-to-miss/
http://mms.businesswire.com/media/20160202006558/en/507426/5/Political_2-2.jpg?download=1
What to Watch
Up for Debate
http://marketingland.com/trump-women-isis-social-language-reveals-2016-race-158336
http://www.campaignlive.com/article/big-data-better-donald-trump/1383209
According to eMarketer, mobile video ad spending in the US is estimated to grow 47% in 2016. (Going from $2.7 billion in 2015, to $4.08 billion in 2016.) By 2018, mobile video is expected to be a $6 billion a year market alone. It’s pretty clear to see, we’re in the midst of a tremendous opportunity.
Centro DSP offers a host of mobile campaign options, including mobile video. In fact, did you know Centro DSP sees over 175 million mobile video impressions (in the US) every day? They come through a variety of exchanges: MoPub, One by AOL (formerly Millennial Media), Google AdX, SpotX, LiveRail, and Dailymotion, to name a few.
The CPM rates for mobile video are relatively high compared to standard banner inventory. That’s because video is obviously a higher impact format, especially with in-app interstitial ad units, which compose the majority of mobile video inventory. In-app interstitial video is particularly appealing to advertisers because of the attention that full-screen videos garner. We can all agree that when a mobile video ad takes over your phone screen, it’s an experience that is hard to ignore.
With respect to the skippability of mobile video ads, videos that are 15 seconds are generally non-skippable, while 30-second videos (and longer) are skippable after 5 seconds. And, in terms of pricing, average CPM rates for mobile video inventory range anywhere from $6 CPM to $19 CPM, which means it’s important to bid accordingly in your campaigns.
Keep in mind that video inventory inside mobile apps is fully compatible with other mobile targeting capabilities in Centro DSP, such as hyperlocal location targeting (via GPS coordinates) and mobile data segments (currently available from PushSpring and Ninth Decimal).
To create a mobile video campaign, simply navigate to the “New” menu and select “Mobile Video Campaign” from the ‘Mobile’ menu. As always, set up is quick and simple but if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our customer support team at [email protected].
"Millennials have a collective $200 billion to spend in 2016. Tapping into the largest generation to date and creating a loyal army to evangelize your brand should always be a primary marketing objective, right?"
Read more from Centro's Ryan Manchee in MarketingProfs
"There is another, inexorable force transforming ad tech: cost-of-sales."
Read more from Centro's Kelly Wenzel on MediaPost.
The long tail of the digital advertising beast has primarily been thought of as a weak appendage, hanging around the shadiest neighborhoods on the Internet. It was tangled with the burrs of low-quality, low-traffic sites, and to many, it wasn’t even worth the cheap impressions that it supposedly delivered. But times have changed. The beast has evolved, and the new long tail is strong, sleek, and delivers surprising bang for your buck.
Let’s look at the data. SMI reported that in 2014 and 2015, 58% of digital spending went to only 20 digital partners.
Based on the numbers above, there’s 42% of spending left on the table, which is now spread out among more than 1,500 other digital partners. These “other” partners that now constitute the long tail are not the second-rate UGC and portal sites of yore, but high-quality sites like LinkedIn(!), Financial Times, and trusted local news properties.
Given the nearly 50/50 spending split and the major improvement in the quality of the inventory, buying strategies for the long tail are just as important as they are for the top partners. In other words, if they aren’t part of your plan, they should be.
Three ways to buy and work with the new long tail:
Programmatic:
Allowed list Buying: This is the exact opposite of what programmatic buyers call audience buying. Instead of looking at consumer traits and buying that behavior across the entire web wherever they might be, allowed list buying targets a specific list of sites an audience is visiting.
How does it work? Simply input the list of sites into a DSP and set a relatively high-bid CPM to secure the inventory. A drawback of this method is that there is no guarantee you will appear on all sites. Delivery might skew heavily to 5 or 10 out of the list. Additionally there is quite a bit of oversight required by the programmatic buyer to ensure bids are set correctly and the campaign is delivering. If you or your client can deal with the unpredictability of this approach, the advantage to allowed list buying is that you will get inventory cheaper than you would by working directly with the sites. To really make this strategy deliver, ensure you have as many relevant sites as possible on your allowed list and complement it with traditional audience buying to hit delivery goals.
PMP: Though relatively new, private marketplace (PMP) deals have seen a lot of growth in the past year. PMPs combine elements of both traditional direct sales and programmatic buying.
How does it work? With PMPs, you have a direct relationship with the publisher and the ability to negotiate a custom deal, along with the efficiency of automated workflow and real-time, per impression targeting. PMPs typically net you slightly cheaper rates than going direct, along with the ability to streamline buying by using your preferred DSP to execute. They also usually have more creative sizes and options available than would a pure programmatic buy (though not as much creative freedom as going site direct). However, PMPs can be trickier than it seems to set up (at least at first) and there are multiple types of PMP deals, each with its own nuances, so campaign management will require extra care and attention.
Site Direct:
Site Direct (with a software assist): This is the ideal buying method for those key long-tail partners that are just outside the “top 20” list but still hold tremendous potential. Companies like Centro provide software that facilitate the buying and negotiation of site-direct, guaranteed IO deals for multiple long-tail partners.
How does it work? You get access to all the benefits of site direct — guaranteed inventory, no limitations on creative, and make-goods on missed goals — and your team is removed from the back-and-forth communication and paperwork that eat up so much time. Using technology partners to help you manage the long tail frees up your team to invest in more profitable activities, such as reporting, research, and client management, as well as strategic and creative thinking.
The promise of high-quality, lower-cost inventory and access to prime audiences makes the long tail a strategic addition to your digital advertising plans. And when you use a smart mix of the buying strategies above, you’ll also be able to maintain successful relationships with your top partners, all while avoiding burnout and inefficiencies on your team. Whatever bad rap the long tail once carried, it’s clear those days are long over.
At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!
IAB: Identifying Cross-Channel Audiences Key to Marketers In 2016
A recent IAB study identified cross-device audiences as the greatest priority for marketers in 2016, followed by programmatic media buying. See TapAd’s recent $360m exit. Also check out these projections for Top Trends in Mobile Advertising and Data Science.
The mix of holiday and mobile brought in $5.6 million for the leading social network. 80% of that was powered by their push in the mobile space. This upward trend isn’t slowing either -- eMarketer expects Facebook to receive nearly 1/3 of all US display dollars this year (31%).
Build, Buy or Rent: Snapchat's Biggest Challenges Building an Ad Platform
With advertising in its infancy on the rising social media juggernaut, Snapchat is actively pursuing the best means to appeal to advertisers through more meaningful targeting and an ability to drive performance. This is very reminiscent of Facebook from 2+ years ago.
A new mobile, social app called Peach burst onto the scene in January. It’s a hybrid of several apps (Snapchat, Slack, and Twitter), has generated a lot of chatter, and even a NYTimes piece. But don’t get ahead of yourself! As Berger states, “Research we conducted demonstrated that things that catch on faster tend to die out faster.”
FTC Takes Aim at Native Advertising
As display placements dwindle, native is enjoying its time in the sun. With that attention comes the FTC who recently released a 12 page guide on native advertising. Most above-the-board native suppliers have little to worry about. However, the biggest area to watch is naming conventions. Some of the more frequently used terms like “promoted” (as seen on Facebook and Buzzfeed) have been deemed too ambiguous and confusing to consumers. To date, no action has been taken against these sites and the units are still in rotation.
Top PTV Trends: Disruption and Opportunity in 2016
Get the top four programmatic TV trends to look out for this year, according to SpotX, including highlights on the industry’s first move toward guidelines, led by the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB).
2016 State of the Broadcast Industry Report
Ooyala explores key topics affecting the broadcast industry, including the impact of over-the-top devices, changes in technology, and the growth of live streaming.
Google Backs FCC Proposal for New Set-Top Box Rules
The FCC is seeking to create a new means for consumers to watch TV content on Smart TVs, tablets, and other devices. To date, many consumers are battling the hassle of leasing set-top boxes through a cable company with limitations on where and when to view. If passed, the FCC proposal would enable devices like Roku, Apple TV, and smartphones to display cable content directly.
Header Bidding: The Industry’s Cronut?
Has header bidding become adtech’s biggest buzzword? Learn more about what header bidding is and why it may not currently be necessary for video.
Thanks for tuning in and be sure to look out for next month’s Digital Innovations Awesome List!
