• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, December 12, 2014

Travel typically dominates when it comes to the most expensive segments on programmatic ad exchanges, but with the holiday season upon us, the cost of reaching travelers has has taken a back seat to the automotive and holidays & events industries.

Auto marketers ramped up their holiday ad spend in November, as economy, diesel cars and midrange autos were the three most expensive segments to target on programmatic ad exchanges last month. The data comes from ChoiceStream’s latest audience cost calendar, which ranks the cost of reaching specific audiences on programmatic ad exchanges. ChoiceStream is a demand-side platform (DSP).

In all, seven of the 10 most expensive segments last month were auto related, while the other three were holidays & events related.

ChoiceStream found that while it has become increasingly expensive to reach “offer seekers” via programmatic ads, a trend that began in September and peaked in November, the cost of reaching “value shoppers” or audiences intent on “couponing” has remained steady -- and cheap compared to other segments.

“Advertisers can take advantage of the lower costs of the Value Shoppers and Couponing segments,” stated Bill Guild, VP of marketing at ChoiceStream. “While brands advertising online shopping deals for the holidays often target Offer Seekers, they can reach these same consumers at a lower cost through alternative segments.”

The full cost calendar can be found here.