Insights from Dmexco you should consider in building your next video advertising strategy for 2018.

Dmexco is clearly one of the market-leading trade shows in the ad tech industry. We had a chance to meet with a lot of industry leaders, including DSPs, SSPs, ad exchanges/server and premium publishers. In this article, I would love to share some of the most significant updates, insights and tips from Dmexco that may help you in deciding your next business strategy.

Cut the middle man and go straight to the source using ads.txt code line

In case you’ve missed out on the latest programmatic updates, the major SSPs are starting to implement the code line ads.text, which basically will be able to trace the origin of the traffic you will be sending. Traffic not sent directly from the source, like in Vast2Vast or programmatic arbitraging, will just be blocked. Will it mark the end of ad networks?

Data Segmentation and audience targeting

We all know that “Data is King”. If you know how to wrap your audience Data (like gender, age, interests, income, etc.) into bundles of data segments, you will have an enormous advantage over your competitors once you will approach those advertisers to sell them your traffic.

Video Header Bidding, Holistic Programmatic vs. Waterfal

According to eMarketer, mobile video programmatic spend is expected to reach $3.79 billion by the end of 2017. Holistic will be a key factor for growth by providing more precise targeting via deep intelligence on mobile consumer behavior and ad-viewing patterns.

It seems that most of the programmatic platforms and advertisers in general are talking about Video header bidding and the shift toward a holistic programmatic approach. Video advertising has already evolved into a more robust format that can reach viewers whenever and wherever they are watching. All the publishers that we met in Dmexco told us that the waterfall does not actually benefit publishers at all.

The bottom line is that header bidding offers much more control over monetization and brings more advertisers to bid on the traffic, which will increase the fillrate in the short term.

Holistic, which in simple terms is the process of integrating real-time-bidding (RTB) systems to core ad serving platforms, guarantees the highest return on filled impressions. All buyers, whether direct or programmatic, will compete to bid for impressions in one holistic eco system.

PMP and DealID will continue to rise.

Private marketplaces (PMPs) and automated-guaranteed trading have become popular methods for monetizing a publisher’s supply. With the PMP you can offer more control over your inventory, rates, and trading partners. The use of these methods is not just growing in the US, but is also spreading globally. For example, French publishers have created La Place Media, a programmatic cooperative to build data and scale.       

Ad network companies are being closed or evolved.

Compared to last year, one can say that there were very few video ad network exhibitors at Dmexco. In my opinion this shows a shift toward the general approach of ‘cut the middle-man.’ If you don’t have any added value in terms of Media, Data, Technology or Unique Demand, you won’t be able to hold your ground for much longer. I think we will see more media companies making strategic acquisitions to find ways of providing personalized brand experiences and audience segmentation.

The shift toward brand-formance: Viewability is no longer enough.

The preferred media buying model is still CPM, but Advertisers are starting to look for performance indicators to determine if the video campaign was successful. Up until recently, viewability and VTR (view-through rate) were the main factors in determining a successful campaign, but it’s just no longer enough. Engagement, consideration, and action are going to be the indicators of a successful advertising video ad.

Compliance tools and how to exclude IVT:

Traffic fraud can cost marketers billions of dollars in wasted ad spend annually. Companies are already investing heavily in integrating with the best compliance and fraud deletion tools. We see more advertisers are using several tools and not just one to increase the chance of blocking the IVT (invalid traffic). The use of pre-bidding within the ad servers (like the integration of WhiteOps with LKQD and SpringServe) also helps to diminish the chance of fraudulent traffic before it will get a chance to enter the marketplace.  

Video: where will we go from here?

According to the annual Global Entertainment & Media Outlook report, Mobile video will be the fastest-growing digital ad segment in the next five years. It will easily surpass desktop Internet video by ad spend revenues. IAB estimates that by the end of 2020 online video is expected to account for 82% of all consumer internet traffic.  

The video ecosystem is continuing to evolve and is becoming much more mature. With the rise in video ad spend, advertisers are looking for better ways to engage with their end users and retrieve as much data on their target audience as possible. In my opinion, the classic business of video ad-networks (arbitraging traffic) is sailing through troubled waters. Without a genuine added value—like technology, unique supply or data segmentation—it will be very difficult for these networks to keep their heads above water.

I really liked the quote of the CEO of The Trade Desk, Jeff Green, that sums up the vision of where this industry is heading:

“There will be fewer ads, they will be more relevant, they will cost more, and they will be worth it.”

Until next time,

Alex.

Senior Sales and Partnership Manager within Webpals.