• by Tyler Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_tyler, August 15, 2014

Given the fact that July is in the heat of the summer, it’s no surprise that the 10 most expensive segments on programmatic ad exchanges last month were all travel-related. That’s according to the August audience cost calendar from ChoiceStream, a demand-side platform (DSP).

The "cost calendar" looks at data from July. ChoiceStream ranks 315 audience segments based on how much they cost advertisers. Segments range from “Travel: Italy” (which was the most expensive segment last month) all the way to “Business: Office Electronics,” (which was one of the 10 cheapest.)

Although travel segments do not usually command all top 10 spots, they are routinely among the most expensive, so there’s nothing new there. What is interesting, however, is that some segments related to kids -- even travel segments -- were much cheaper in July. For example, “Aquariums” and “Traveling with Kids” were among the cheapest segments last month.

ChoiceStream also noticed a trend from auto companies: Foreign car brand advertising was cheaper on programmatic exchanges last month, while domestic brands saw prices increase.

“[Y]ou'll see that Ferrari, Nissan, Toyota, and Volvo have fallen up to 170 places in rank -- while the American brand segment has done just the opposite," stated Bill Guild, VP of marketing at ChoiceStream. "While this may not reflect the sales for each brand observed, it does speak to the value of reaching consumers in these segments with display ads."

Interestingly, “Shopping: Groceries” was one of the fastest-growing segments last month in terms of price, rising 65 places. ChoiceStream theorizes that grocery advertising has become more expensive because online grocery shopping has become more popular, per Businessweek and Forbes articles written earlier this year.