– And Why Everyone Should Have Access to Mobile Programmatic
Programmatic advertising has been the growth driver for all digital advertising for the last five years, at least. Data-driven, automated digital display advertising is more than just retargeting, more than just RTB. It’s all about reaching the right audience at the right time and with the right message, at scale. Mobile programmatic takes the practice to the next level.
With mobile programmatic, marketers can reach and engage consumers away from their desktops. By the end of this year, over $24 Billion will be spent on mobile programmatic advertising, a clear sign that marketers are catching on. Adding mobile to the programmatic equation not only means that marketers have more opportunities to reach consumers while they’re on the go, it means that location data can be easily factored in. Think about it: more and more people are getting smart phones, and they’re spending increasingly more time on them, too. By not taking advantage of the mobile programmatic opportunity, marketers are missing out on hundreds of potential touch points every single day.
Location data is a game-changer
- But there’s more to it than that: location data itself is imperative today. There are so many ways to use this data
- Reaching audiences as they approach your business. In real-time, target coffee lovers as they walk past your restaurant in the morning with an offer for discounted cup.
Reaching audiences who live near your business. Location data can tell you who lives and works near your business. If you have a gym, for example, you can reach fitness enthusiasts who live within easy driving distance with your ads for free passes. - Building audiences based on their behavior. With historical location data, you can build audience segments of people who go to the movies every Friday, who go to the gym every morning, or who dine at the same restaurant every day. Layered over other behavioral data, this can help build very detailed audience profiles that can help you create more effective campaigns.
Location data alone is a powerful reason to consider mobile advertising. Combining that with the sheer number of mobile users makes it even more persuasive. But there are actually even more reasons to consider mobile: ad formats are improving every day. In fact, mobile video advertising is becoming one of the industry’s biggest growth drivers. More than half of all digital video is viewed on mobile devices, and new native formats also becoming both popular and more effective. Innovators like Snapchat and Instagram have been introducing new, large-canvas mobile ads that are idea of storytelling.
In-App Reaches Engaged Users
Meanwhile, in-app advertising is getting smarter and more engaging every day. While big brand advertisers have shied away from in-app advertising in the past, they’re getting on board today. Why? Because people love apps. As eMarketer senior analyst Catherine Boyle pointed out last year (via MediaPost)…
- Mobile users spend nearly 80 percent of their mobile time using apps; Web visits are “frequent but fleeting”, making up about 20 percent of mobile time
- We’re starting to see the mobile ad dollars are follow mobile consumer behavior, so 73.2 percent of ad spending today (display plus search) now goes in-app
- A larger volume of mobile Web impressions is bought and sold in comparison to in-app impressions, but that’s largely because there are more mobile web impressions available. Of all mobile inventory purchased programmatically in 2016, it’s estimated that 70-85 percent of it was mobile Web inventory – that’s based on volume, not dollars spent. That’s changing though, as demand for in-app advertising grows.
In-app also has the advantage of providing more accurate location data, since app users generally give universal permission for an app to use their location. Mobile websites need to ask permission to use location data every session, and because this would negatively impact user experience, they generally don’t. Instead, they extrapolate data that is often less accurate.
Everyone should use mobile programmatic – and everyone can
The scale, reach and accuracy of mobile programmatic was once reserved for only the biggest brand advertisers. It wasn’t long ago that the practice was so exclusive that only the biggest agencies even offered programmatic advertising, while a select few big brands brought leading technology and expert teams in-house.
Now, programmatic is much more accessible. Apart from a vast selection of available inventory in both mobile and desktop display, high quality data is now available at reasonable prices. The technology playing field has also leveled out, so now even smaller players can access cutting-edge platforms.
While many smaller agencies now offer programmatic advertising services for companies of all sizes, there are tools available today that smaller businesses can access on their own, on a self-service basis. These cost-effective demand-side platforms (DSPs) give growing businesses access to the same inventory and scale that their Goliath-sized competitors have, often for a fraction of the cost. With the right partner to help them along, small businesses can truly compete, particularly in local markets – and even win.
Mobile programmatic shouldn’t just be for major franchises and global brands. In this era, digital is an imperative for all businesses, and mobile is becoming just as critical. Moving forward, programmatic will become – in short order – another “must-have” for businesses of all sizes. The power to find, reach and engage local audiences will be the key to making any growing business a success.
Want to learn more about how mobile programmatic advertising can help your growing business? Contact Cross Audience today.
