Has there been a breakthrough in mobile? Programmatic buys are up, and the Apple Watch is getting some platform support …
Mobile programmatic is the next frontier for publishers looking to generate digital ad revenue, and some believe it could finally give digital magazines the opening they need to establish a foothold in this most elusive terrain.
At Mequoda, we believe that ad revenue of any kind – print, desktop, mobile, you name it – must serve as one part of a multiplatform strategy. Still, it’s refreshing to hear that some headway is being made for publishers on tablets, phablets, smartphones, and … yes … even the Apple Watch. Programmatic ad sales are up, and they show no sign of slowing down.
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MediaPost is on top of these angles and others in some of their recent exemplary industry coverage. Let’s take a look at what they have for us this week.
Mobile Programmatic Buys Are on an Upward Trend
MediaPost’s Real-Time Daily cites the Rubicon Project as a source for the current mobile programmatic surge. The ad exchange and ad tech provider says its mobile share on programmatic ads has jumped from 3% to 20%-plus year-over-year, MediaPost reports. This represents a 1,300% increase in spending, according to MediaPost.
And the good news doesn’t stop there.
“A recent Millennial Media report noted that 91% of mobile ad buyers have increased their programmatic spend in 2015. And Beachfront Media, a video ad tech firm, recently told Real-Time Daily that the vast majority of its programmatic business now comes from mobile. … Frank Sinton, CEO and founder of Beachfront Media, went so far as to predict that mobile’s data – namely IDFA tags from Apple and GAID tags from Google – would replace the cookie as the most vital piece of audience-targeting data in the next year or two. He had some data to back that prediction up, noting that apps that passed the IDFA and GAID tags were eight and seven times more likely to receive an ad than those that didn’t pass the tags, respectively,” writes Tyler Loechner.
“All of this growth is being fueled by one thing: The marketers themselves are increasing mobile programmatic efforts. Not many may not be willing to speak on behalf of mobile programmatic strategy publicly – as Real-Time Daily was told by one agency – but the industry at large is talking with its money.”
The Apple Watch: Mobile Programmatic Native Support
Three million people are wearing an Apple Watch right now, if you can believe it. These consumers need good mobile programmatic native ads just like the rest of us! And MediaPost’s Real-Time Daily reports that platforms are lining up to help provide them.
Supply-sider PubNative is one of them, announcing last week that it facilitates Apple Watch native ads via API, Loechner reports. The company argues that the device’s screen size demands in-line ads and sponsored content if consumers are to accept any disruption.
Updates on Digital Media M&A
Mergers & acquisitions on the digital media front are hopping, Loechner reports in MediaPost’s Real-Time Daily, to the tune of a 24% increase year-over-year. Coady Diemar Partners provides the data to back it up. Of the 1,243 digital media M&A, there were fewer blockbusters, but more volume. The value of ad tech mergers & acquisitions, meanwhile, has skyrocketed by 74% year-over-year.
Clearly, brands are ready to buy some ads. Are publishers ready?
What’s your take on mobile programmatic? Questions? Concerns? Not there yet? Let us know in the comments!
To read more about mobile programmatic in the news, visit MediaPost.
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