As 2017 is in full swing, the digital ad space will continue to expand and advance, creating more opportunities for advertisers and marketers alike to play within the ad field. Consumers are media multitaskers; always connected and always on. The tech world is constantly introducing new and innovative devices and platforms to the market, increasing the number of smartphone users in the U.S., which is estimated to reach 222.9 million by the end of the year (statista.com). With the number of mobile users growing, it’s no wonder advertisers are quickly shifting from conventional desktop display ads to mobile and tablet display.
Display Advertising Growth
According to Emarketer.com, last year’s U.S. programmatic digital display ad spend reached $22.10 billion. Mobile drove the growth of programmatic ad spending, representing 69% of all programmatic digital display ad spending media buying. This growth in mobile pushed the total spend on digital advertising to a record high, and drove advertisers toward running more ads in the mobile space. While the ads and spend continue to increase, so do capabilities for mobile networks.
There are many advantages of running on programmatic ad networks. Not only do these networks provide the ability to reach consumers on-the-go, but they also improve upon measurement and attribution. Many mobile ad networks can provide exact targeting and retargeting based on user profiles built through cookies. In-app mobile ads perform much better than mobile web ads, and ad spend will likely follow performance and usage (via Business Insider). Mobile click-through rates are also generally high, compared to desktop advertising.
Embracing the Shift to Mobile Ad Formats
The shift toward mobile advertising also leads to the ability to roll out and link sequential messaging across multiple screens, depending on a user’s particular journey. Linking allows advertisers to target across multiple devices and measure whether an ad on a mobile device or tablet drove an in-store sale. According to CrossWise.com, “By adding the data known about a consumer from her PC Web activity to her mobile device profile, advertisers can target the same consumer via her mobile devices much more effectively.” These insights are particularly helpful for those in the automotive, retail, and travel industries, where a lot of these in-store transactions happen in the real world.
As mobile networks continue to grow, and companies continue to invest in this advertising platform, it will be interesting to see how much more the industry will shift in regard to display ad networks.
LINKS:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/201182/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-the-us/
https://www.crosswise.com/cross-device-learning-center/cross-device-advertising/
